Earlier in the year there was a kerfuffle over the directive by the Department of Labour that staff were not to attend a rally on pay equity held at Parliament. At the time me, along with PSA and others raised concerns as to this being a limitation on the democratic rights of public servants. The Minister and David Farrar obfuscated away at the time.
Therefore it was very interesting to hear Iain Rennie the State Services Commissioner tell the Government Administration Select Committee yesterday that he did not believe that the memo was acceptable, and that he had advised the Chief Executive accordingly. He also said he had communicated this to other Chief Executives. I have requested the actual communications to see what has been said, and what is acceptable to the State Services Commissioner.
I strongly believe that we must uphold the democratic rights of public servants as citizens. I hope Tony Ryall will uphold these rights. I will be monitoring closely whether departments and agencies follow through on protecting these rights.
Not good.
it is the right of us all to protest/strike when we feel the need .. the thing is that we are all in tight times .. 100’s of my work mates (non union) got a zero pay rise this year and many had their bonus cancelled .. I get a little annoyed that public servants are striking/protesting that they are getting small increases or the same as me .. zip/zilch/zero.
costs of everything are going up and it is hard BUT reality must kick in. We are borrowing 250 mill a week now .. what would it be is all Public Servants (god bless them) got say 4-5% across the board.
@Jabba. Of course this was about the right to attend a rally about pay equity for women rather than a particular claim, but leaving that to one side I don’t know of anyone in the public service who expects 4-5% in the current climate. Public servants I talk to know the effect of the recession- they have seen many of their colleagues lose their jobs. Some will get no increase in pay this year, others might. The latest Stats NZ Labour Cost Index shows that in the year to September wages in the private sector grew slightly more than in the public sector. I think people just want to be treated fairly- whether they work in the public or private sector.
@ Jabba… I think part of what you’re saying is right. But the fact is, the public servants asking for the pay rise are front line staff… I don’t think I have seen many policy advisors out on strike yet… but, the government has a commitment to improving front line services, you don’t do that by asking a nurse to start operating a till, filling out twelve forms for each patient as well as taking care of the front desk… just as an example.
Remember the service is probably around 10% in general behind their private sector colleagues…ok, we accept that is appropriate in some instances. However, the point is, you can’t squeeze the people doing the job right?
There is no reason why private company workers can’t strike if they want to. High unionism rates in the service gives workers greater strength in numbers. But… I do think there is more to the picture than what you’re saying. I do feel bad for anyone who puts a year’s good work in, like you have I’m sure, and doesn’t have the opportunity to demonstrate a rationale for an increased share of improved productivity. But… You can’t expect public servents to have to take all the effects of the recession on their backs either right?
“thing is that we are all in tight times”
Im getting sick of this ‘tight times’ BS. Everywhere, these at the bottom the heap are expected to wear the worst of this recession.
Hear hear Millsy
Tight times are when employers should be keeping their staff and focus their attentions on selling to the nation rather than exporting.. but this bs about NZ being an “exporting” nation has held it’s enthralling grip on farmers and fonterra for the last 40 years. Yes, capitalism works. We’ve all seen it works just. so. well. *sark*
Keep the staff, reduce exports, sell to the homeland. Total volume will drop, total receipts will drop, but revenue will go up.
Why? Simple economics. It’s so blindingly obvious. Kiwi wages pay for Kiwi made. It’s a beautiful concept. Obviously when employers see that wages arent able to afford kiwi made, two things will happen
1) wages will increase
2) more staff will be hired in order to cope with increased demand for products due to higher wages
thus endeth the lesson
I have my doubts that the gender gap exists because of the glass ceiling or an old boys club attitude exists in most areas of business these days (altho only a fool would deny there are undoubtedly some holdout areas!). I just wonder what exactly is expected to be done about it? If women don’t apply for higher level positions through their own choice, hardly something that can be legislated is it? Does anyone know of any actual jobs where women are paid less than men for the same job?
And just as an aside, if a Union member has a problem with pay equity, have to ask what sort of a job is their union doing for them?!
millsy, there have been many business closing over the past year or 2 with unemployment at it’s highest rate for many a year .. the phrase “tight times” is not bs.
I have 3 kids in the work force .. 1 a nurse at Middlemore who has a 1 year daughter so only works nights and weekends and she could do with more $ (and doesn’t need a admin workload increase) and 2 boys in the private sector (1 a Builder and the other a Painter/decorator) with both professions under the gosh. Both the boys jobs pay under $20 ph.
The boys are just hoping to keep their jobs and the thought of even asking for a pay rise isn’t on their radar.
I hope that when we come out of the recession properly, employers acknowledge the part their employees played in the companies survival and compensate them is an appropiate way.If they don’t, I will be hammering them in anyway I can.
Under a previous National government protesting in parliament grounds got the public arrested, and under this government the Ministers have twisted the CEOs arm to stop public servants protesting.
See a pattern here?
[...] Grant Robertson blogs that State Services Commissioner Iain Rennie has told the Dept of Labour they were wrong to advise staff not to take part in a rally on pay equity. This is why Rennie is so well respected – he is not scared to get offside with Ministers. A pity he wasn’t Commissioner when Labour were getting Madeline Setchell sacked over her boyfriend’s job, and smearing Erin Leigh for resisting a political appointment.
I don’t see a pattern GWW.
What I do see is a very good state services commissioner standing up for the rights of public servants holding private political opinions. It’s a pity Mr Rennie wasn’t in the chair when a certain public servant was sacked not for her political opinion but of that of her partner. Or perhaps things might have turned out differently for another public servant if Mr Rennie had been the SSC, had the state services minister not abused her in Parliament.
All under a Labour government so no I don’t think there’s a pattern GWW.
Sacked ? She was offered another position because there was a conflict of interest.
She didnt take it and took monetary compensation.
In the Private sector you wouldnt have someone working with top executives of Vodafone who had a partner working for Telecom , who was with the group of people working to undermine Vodafone.
As usual Tim you manage to ignore the truth