The Significance of the 1912 Waihi Strike
This year marks the centenary of the 1912 Waihi miners’ strike, one of the most important – and violently contested – strikes in New Zealand history. Frederick Evans was matyred; political ideas and organisational questions clarified; and the role and force of the state made clear. The strike offers many lessons for today. To mark the occasion, […]
Auckland bus drivers’ spirit prevails over dead hand of union bureaucrats
At a mass meeting Auckland bus drivers working for NZ Bus Ltd had thrown out a pay deal recommended to them by the First Union and the Tramways Union, and the drivers were set to strike on Monday, September 24, and every Monday thereafter. Every socialist and trade unionist should be aware of what happened […]
South Africa: Miners strike back
Some 4,000 striking Marikana platinum miners confronted heavily armed police and strike spread to other mines. They chanted “The white men are shaking!” and “The police who shot us are shaking!” in the face off at the mine. The strike remains solid despite an agreement reached between management and the official miners’ union the NUM. The striking […]
The class struggle today
During the whole of 2011 there were a mere 12 work stoppages and they involved barely 2,000 workers and only 4,850 person-days lost (to exploitation); so says the Department of Labour. Even worse, only 9 of the 12 stoppages were actual stoppages. The other 3 were what the DOL calls ‘partial strikes’, which are not […]
Review: The Significance of the 1912 Waihi Strike
Review: The Significance of the 1912 Waihi Strike Martin Gregory International Socialist Organisation, 2012 ISBN: 978-0-473-22214-7 $5 Reviewed by Andrew Cooper On Monday a force of thugs and scabs attacked the union hall under the gaze of the police with a hail of missiles. A plug of gelignite was thrown, exploding just outside the hall […]
Ports of Auckland signs agreement with scab union PortPro
It has been announced that the Ports of Auckland management have signed a collective agreement with the scab union PortPro that was established by 30 strikebreaking stevedores. This is a setback for the Maritime Union, which has been trying to negotiate a new collective agreement since August of 2011.
Rebellion of the Rank and File
On 17 September a joint-union stopwork meeting of Auckland bus drivers voted against their union leaders’ recommendation to accept the latest NZ Bus offer. Unless a concession is made Auckland’s 800 bus drivers will be on strike next Monday, and plan to strike every Monday for weeks if necessary. NZ Bus is owned by Infratil, […]
Aotearoa: the State of the Class Struggle
During the whole of 2011 there were a mere 12 work stoppages and they involved barely 2,000 workers and only 4,850 person-days lost (to exploitation); so says the Department of Labour. Even worse, only 9 of the 12 stoppages were actual stoppages. The other 3 were what the DOL calls ‘partial strikes’, which are not […]
A Victory for Talley’s AFFCO Workers
Union Hard! This slogan from the locked-out and striking men and women of the Meatworkers’ Union had real meaning over the summer and autumn of this year – for twelve hard weeks they faced off against a company determined to break their union. Talley’s did not manage to do this, and it didn’t manage to […]
Beating back the bosses
It’s the middle of winter and four years into a National government but spring is in the air. When Key was re-elected we were worried. He won the election on the back of a record low vote (around 50% of people on the Maori roll didn’t vote) but he claimed an endorsement for another three […]
