Unite Union Campaign for a $15 Minimum Wage

August 23, 2009 by

Thursday 27 August 2009, 6pm
Tom Fordes Irish Bar and Political Museum
122 Anzac Ave, Auckland
Are you an Auckland student, campus worker or academic who wants to learn about or get involved in the $15 hr Campaign for a Living Wage? If so then come along to this public meeting to learn more about the campaign and why the Unite Union is making a stand against poverty wages in Aotearoa.

Hear about the campaign and the new progressive union movement from union leaders Mike Treen and John Minto.

450,000 people are paid less than $15 an hour. 100,000 workers are on the minimum wage of $12.50. That’s not enough to live on. We’re standing up against poverty wages and we’re going to need you.

It’s time to put workers first

Filed Under: Workers in Struggle

Telecom dispute heating up

August 18, 2009 by

The Telecom workers’ dispute is heating up. Auckland has seen striking workers marching up Queen St and picketing the Telecom HQ.  On 18 August, around 300 headed for Alexandra Park for an unpaid meeting called by their union, the EPMU. The mood was upbeat and defiant. Their direct employer, Visionstream, is intent on forcing workers into a “dependent contractor” employment relationship. Workers would be expected to provide their own vehicle and materials, without any guarantee of work available. The union sought a legal opinion, which found that “each individual could be facing a pay cut from 50-66%.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: Workers in Struggle

Resistance in Korea

August 16, 2009 by

Public Meeting: Wednesday 19th August 7pm Clubspace, University of Auckland (above the quad)

 In 2008 hundreds of thousands of Koreans joined massive candle light vigils protesting the right-wing government of Lee Myung Bak. A wide cross section of people were angered by Lee’s policies of privatisation, attacks on public education and his decision to allow imports of US beef despite fears over Mad Cow Disease. Following the protests the government launched a heavy crack down on democratic freedoms. Riot police brutally attacked demonstrators. Many protest leaders were imprisoned.

 Recently the occupation of the Ssangyong auto factory by 600 workers, facing off attacks by police helicopters, tear gas and tasers has received media attention around the World.

 Jacob Lee, a member of the Korean socialist group All Together, will give a first hand account of the militant mass movements in Korea.

 All welcome! (Organised by Socialist Aotearoa)

Filed Under: Korea, Workers in Struggle

Telecom lines engineers begin nationwide strike Tuesday 11 August

August 11, 2009 by

Telecom lines engineers will begin a second round of nationwide strike action over their employers’ refusal to offer redundancy protection at a time of uncertainty in the industry.

The nationwide strike action will affect Telecom’s phone, internet and eftpos services from Invercargill to Kerikeri, and will involve 900 workers from Telecom’s Australian-owned contractors Transfield Services and Downer EDI.

The action comes as North Shore lines engineers enter their fifth day of ongoing strike action.

EPMU national industry organiser Joe Gallagher says the lines engineers are striking for redundancy protections in an industry increasingly destabilised by Telecom’s contracting model.

 Join the strikers in Tuesday 11 August, at 9am Hopetoun Street, Grey Lynn, Auckland

Filed Under: Workers in Struggle

National’s McJob Creation Scheme

August 5, 2009 by

The Spark August 2009burger
Byron Clark

The government has made a deal with fast food giant McDonald’s in which young people receiving the unemployment benefit will be sent to jobs in McDonald’s restaurants, and have their ‘training’ subsidised by the state. Every beneficiary McDonald’s hires will get the company up to $16,000 which is the equivalent of about 8 months wages for a McDonalds worker. Social Development and Employment Minister Paula Bennett is citing the relationship with the golden arches as an example of “the Government’s commitment to getting beneficiaries into jobs,” but while the growing number of unemployed certainly need jobs, McDonald’s needs workers a whole lot more, and this is what the scheme is really about.

Fast food is a growth industry during this recession, as people who would have previously eaten at more up-market restaurants lower their budgets. McDonald’s in New Zealand is continuing to build on its profits, enough to open a number of new outlets. They need to employ an estimated 6,000 workers over the next few years. The reason? Those workers are where their profit comes from. The company can provide an investment to build a new store with all the cooking and food preparing equipment that requires, but it can’t see a return on that investment until labour (ie, workers) is added. A McDonald’s worker doing an eight hour shift for minimum wage will be paid $100, but by turning raw materials (buns, meat patties, frozen Happy Meals, that worker could produce $200 for the company. Without the worker, McDonald’s couldn’t realise a profit. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Economics, Fighting Redundancies, National Party
«Previous Page
Next Page»