Living Wage win in Wellington
The Greater Wellington Regional Council, meeting on 28 September, unanimously passed a Living Wage motion proposed by Sue Kedgely. I was one of a group of Living Wage activists present at the meeting. The motion proposed was as follows: “That the Council: Notes that the Living Wage movement is gaining momentum around the world and […]
Easter Sunday: Another Attack on Workers’ Rights
On 25 August the government majority in Parliament passed the Shop Trading Hours Amendment Act by a vote of 62 to 59. Peter Dunne, David Seymour (ACT) and Te Ururoa Flavell (Maori Party) voted with the National Party, who were whipped for this measure. Marama Fox (Maori Party) voted against along with Labour, the Greens […]
Our ‘work ethic’ is not the problem
John Key came out this week and said it: New Zealanders are just too lazy or drug-addled to work, so we have to bring in migrants to “do a fabulous job” harvesting fruit and veges. It’s a meme that has done the rounds on the media, slyly suggested by employers, farmers and politicians but never before as baldly […]
NZEI and PPTA stand up to government’s attacks on public education.
Unionised teachers in the secondary, primary and early childcare unions, PPTA and NZEI, attended paid union meeting nationwide to discuss a fightback against the government’s attacks on public education this week. Thousands of teachers filled the Auckland and Wellington town halls to voice their anger and concern about the government’s plans. Thousands more filled halls […]
How do we win the Living Wage?
On July 6th, Living Wage campaigner Deborah Littman spoke to an assembly of faith groups, unionists, students and other activists gathered at Saint Peter’s Church in Wellington. Much of what Littman presented was encouraging. Her experiences as part of successful living wage campaigns within London and Vancouver offer hope to New Zealand activists struggling to […]
Workers can run the world
Gowan Ditchburn gave this talk to the Auckland branch of the International Socialists in May. Let us examine on of my favourite things on Earth, Democracy. No, not that silly parliamentary kind where you vote every few years. I mean real democracy. Control by the people. Actual control not sending people to parliament to argue […]
French workers rise up against attacks on labour rights
Clément is a university professor in Paris. He is 32 years old and has been an activist in the New Anticapitalist Party (NPA) since it was founded in 2009. He responds to the ISO’s questions on about the social movement against the labour law in France. Translation was provided by Brittany Travers and Cory Anderson. […]
The language of the unheard in Bengaluru
“A riot is the language of the unheard” is one of the less frequently cited sayings of Dr Martin Luther King Jr, but its truth has been illustrated in the recent textile workers’ strike in the Indian city of Bengaluru. The Garment and Textiles Workers’ Union planned the protests over the government’s new laws stating […]
Stop the Slop – Protest at Dunedin Hospital
Andrew Tait gave this speech at a protest outside Dunedin hospital on Friday: Nga mihi nui ki te tangata whenua o tenei rohe Kai Tahu whanui. Ki tewhare e tu nei, tena koe. Ki a koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa. That’s my hospital. I pay for it. My family and friends work there, […]
Review: Raising Expectations (and Raising Hell)
Raising Expectations (and Raising Hell): My Decade Fighting for the Labor Movement by Jane McAlevey, Verso, 2014. Workers today, in more cases than not, bear passive witness to a world where we have less power and a smaller share of society’s wealth than in generations. It’s rare for us to see any substantial challenge to […]
