Migrant Workers Abuse Scandal in Christchurch: Immigration Bill Not the Answer
In early January there was a rerun of stories in the media about a new law to “crackdown on migrant exploitation.” When the Immigration Amendment Bill No. 2 was introduced in Parliament in October last year First Union highlighted the case of Filipino workers in Christchurch being told that they must work on Saturdays without […]
All the way for equal pay
Kristine Bartlett is a hero. She and her union, the SWFU, are spearheading the fight for equal pay through the courts. Last year Bartlett was in the Employment Court to argue that her miserable $14.46 an hour after 20 years experience as a caregiver breached the Equal Pay Act 1972. Her reasoning was that her […]
Engineers and Servos Ponder Mega-Merger Union
Two of Aotearoa’s largest unions, the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU) — my union — and the Service and Food Workers Union (SFWU), may merge early next year. Members of both unions will vote on this in June. With about 56,000 members, a merged union would be by far the largest private sector union […]
Rebuilding Our Unions
Dougal McNeill gave this talk as an introduction to one of the sessions at the ISO’s recent national conference / hui-a-tau, held in Auckland in December. This talk is of necessity arranged in a bitsy, fragmentary, tentative way. That’s because this is the kind of year we’ve had – there has been no single event […]
Web Round-Up: January
A round-up of interesting links and articles from January. The Nasty Nats John Minto profiles Paula Bennett, the politician who wanted all beneficiaries to be subject to invasive blood tests. A picture from summer: John Key is a member of the ruling elite, and nobody should forget this image: two multi-millionaires, forcing austerity policies on […]
Korean Railway Strike – What’s at Stake?
On 31 December, thousands of Korean railway workers returned to work after a three-week strike against government plans to set up a subsidiary company to operate a Korean Train express (KTX) service in competition with the state run Korail. It was the longest railway strike in South Korean history. Korail management and the right wing […]
Hillside was the heart of working class in the South
This is the transcript of a speech given at the anniversary of the closure of Kiwirail’s Hillside workshop in Dunedin by Andrew Tait on Friday 20th December, 2013. Right now in Korea, the railway workers union is out on strike against privatising rail. The government has met the strike with repression but this is nothing new […]
Auckland Taxi Drivers Show Direct Action Works
A group of taxi drivers at Auckland International Airport went on a hunger strike in protest late last year over their working conditions. This dispute started when President Taxis were notified that this company would no longer have a contract with Auckland Airport. About 50 drivers are employed by President taxis which means they will […]
Transforming our Unions: a report from the PSA Youth National Conference
Earlier this week the Public Service Association’s Youth Network (PSAY) held its annual conference. 90 members of the PSAY Network met to discuss issues relevant to young workers and build youth participation in the union. While young workers join the PSA and become delegates at roughly similar rates to their older colleges, they are under-represented […]
Why fruit is picked by migrant workers
This article by Richard Seymour out of the UKraises issues of importance for the workers’ movement in Aotearoa, given seasonal labour’s role in fruit and horticulture, and recent debates – within the ruling class and media – on migration, exploitation and seasonal workers from the Pacific. The debate over the decision to scrap a seasonal […]
