The Workplace – FightBack

Wellington bus drivers fight back

October 14, 2008 by Admin

– Spark Editors

Over the last couple of decades, workers have taken significant hits to their pay and conditions. The last nine years of Labour-led government has seen no significant improvement for the great majority of working people. That’s why some groups of workers, like the bus drivers, have started fighting back.

On 25 September 2008, the bus company Go Wellington locked out all its bus drivers, mechanics and controllers for 24 hours, in response to limited industrial action in support of the drivers’ pay claim. This is the first time that Wellington city bus drivers have been locked out. As this issue of The Spark goes to press, negotiations are continuing.

The Workers Party fully supports the Wellington bus drivers. Workers Party member Nick Kelly was recently elected president of the Wellington Tramways Union, the union of Wellington bus drivers.

Public support for the workers affected in this dispute has been strong. For example, a street collection for the drivers by Brass Razoo Solidarity Band and Workers Party members the day after the lockout raised $260 in less than an hour.

By contrast, there has been little public sympathy for the management of NZ Bus who locked out the drivers, and have constantly lied in the media about the drivers’ pay claims and what drivers currently earn.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Workers in Struggle Tagged With: Go Wellington, Wellington Tramways Union

Countdown trolley wrangler wants workers’ control

October 14, 2008 by Admin

– Alastair Reith

Defenders of capitalism often claim that it is the most efficient, productive and effective system on offer. That for all its flaws (such as the misery that most of humanity is forced to endure), capitalism is at least capable of ensuring that everything operates the way it should, and all the jobs get done. However, this doesn’t stack up to reality.

I spend every Sunday pushing trolleys in the Countdown carpark. It’s a boring, monotonous job with very little to stimulate my mind – I walk outside, get trolleys, take them back inside, and repeat the process. Every now and again I shake things up a bit by taking a trolley into the store, collecting baskets and taking them out to the foyer.

Last Sunday, though, something was different. I don’t enjoy my job that much, and I don’t exactly pour every drop of energy I have into it, but over time I have become reasonably good at it. I can usually ensure that at all but the busiest times there are trolleys and baskets in the foyer and no major problems to do with supply of shopping bags, till rolls, etc. I can pretty much just zone out and let the day take its course as I get into my usual routine.

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Filed Under: Marxism, Workers in Struggle

Casino strikes continue into third month

October 6, 2008 by Admin

– Laurie Garnett

Auckland’s SkyCity casino workers have been striking since August. In the last issue of the Spark we looked at the creative tactics of the strikers who were in for the long haul. With the company not budging from its 4 percent offer, workers are keeping the pressure on the management.

In the twenty or so different casino departments union members use varying tactics. Some go out on half-hour strikes, some organise a whole shift of strike action. Others turn up to work late, while some leave early. If the company increases staffing levels in anticipation of strikes the union members stay on duty to maximise the cost to the company. When negotiations at the end of September ended with the company refusing to improve its offer, 80 staff immediately walked off the job. The strikes are called by rank and file union members with the element of surprise being a key tool. As 40 percent of the workforce is not unionised the method of intermittent skirmishing is favoured over attempts at all out strikes.

The new management team which was appointed earlier this year had hoped to quickly make their mark, but now their plans for the business have been stymied by a culture of defiance.

If they expected to win over hearts and minds with a few pizzas and movie passes they should know better by now. The strikes are about having decent wages and recognition of service. Save the pizzas for the managers who have to get out of bed in the middle of the night when a strike is called.

Filed Under: Workers in Struggle Tagged With: skycity

Is capitalism heading for a meltdown?

October 6, 2008 by Admin

Click here to download our special Spark supplement which analyses the crisis currently enveloping the world financial markets and asks what it might mean for workers as well as the rest of the global economy.

Filed Under: Economics, Fighting Redundancies