Uber vs its drivers

On 19th March around 40 people rallied outside the Court of Appeal in Te Whanganui-a-Tara / Wellington in support of Uber drivers. The rally called by First Union, which has more than a thousand Uber driver members, was held in the hour before the start of a two-day court hearing. Uber is seeking that the […]

Union Response to the War on Gaza

Palestinian unions are urging global unions to show solidarity and refuse to support the ongoing destruction in Gaza, including hospitals, ambulances, and refugee centres. Calling on unions internationally:  To refuse to build weapons destined for Israel. To refuse to transport weapons to Israel. To pass motions in their trade union to this effect. To take […]

What Happened to Fair Pay Agreements?

FPA

Labour’s 2017 election manifesto commitment to introduce industry-wide Fair Pay Agreements was, arguably, the party’s most radical policy. The idea was to set national terms and conditions for groups of unorganised, low-paid workers – cleaners, security guards and the like  – which would put an end to the race to the bottom by the employers. […]

Fired Up for Workers’ Rights

Fired Up Stilettos at Parliament

Since February socialists have been following the activity of Fired Up Stilettos (FUS), a group of dancers who have been “kicking up a FUS” ever since they were unfairly sacked from Calendar Girls strip club in Wellington. Braving the possible repercussions, FUS have been blowing the whistle on unscrupulous practices in adult entertainment and agitating […]

Actors and Writers on Strike: Solidarity and Class Consciousness

What’s Happening On May 2, 2023 more than 11,000 unionised screenwriters went on strike. In April, almost 98% of the membership of the Writers Guild of America (technically an umbrella of two unions) voted to go on strike if negotiations between them and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) broke down. And […]

Fight for the Right to Strike: Nurses Win Against Labour

NZNO rally

Te Whatu Ora, under Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall, failed in its bid to get an Employment Court decision that an impending strike by NZNO nurses would be unlawful. The Court’s rejection of the Ministry’s application for an injunction enabled a lawful strike to go ahead on 24 May. Nurses and health care assistants […]

Secondary Education in Crisis

PPTA Rally

The reality of teaching in 2023 The secondary education sector is on its knees. There is a crisis in the profession and it all stems from wages and conditions. Just ask yourself if you have said this to a teacher friend, “I don’t know how you do it, I wouldn’t want to do your job.” […]

Protect Otago – Save Our University!

Protect Otago

Protect Otago  – Save Our University Brian S. Roper is an Associate Professor and former Head of the Politics Programme from the University of Otago. He is working on a book entitled – Neoliberalism’s War on New Zealand’s Universities – to be published by Palgrave MacMillan in 2024. Here he responds to four key questions […]

University of Otago: Fight For Every Job

Senior managers at the University of Otago want to slash hundreds of jobs. They want to cut $60 million from their annual budget and today announced voluntary redundancies with plans for more job losses to come. This is not a done deal. It should be opposed. We face difficult days ahead. But the old union […]