About 4,000 wage and salary earners turned out today in Wellington (and more than 20,000 nationwide) to show the Key government that they oppose their proposals designed to cut wages in a direct contradiction to their promise to bring our wage level up to Australia’s.
Labour has made it clear we will reverse the laws that allowed people to be fired for no reason in their forst 90 days, that prevent someone asking their union rep to look at a dangerous machine and that requires people to give a medical certificate for one days absence.
More than that we will have labour relations legislation which means individuals will have an ability to join a collective agreement even when they are in a small firm.
Trevor – if you are referring to the bunch of rag-tags walking down Lambton Quay then someone is feeding you mis-information. There was nothing like 4000. I guess there would hardly be 300. Mostly they were staffers from the various unions and it was a very small bunch.
I had an interesting encounter with the parasite exposed in the papers last weekend who had the cheek to tell me I was exploiting workers because I was wearing a suit. What a loser that guy was. He would rate as unemployable. No employer would even give the sad sack a job even with this legislation.
While your lot are moaning about this legislation the rest of us just get on with our lives and are grateful that the nats are bringing in more self responsibility and presenting employers with the chance to give people an opportunity.
Good policies on Labour’s part. I went to the rally in South Auckland on a bus organised by mu union. There was so much traffic going to the rally, the roads were all clogged up, and we got parked and off the bus just as the rally was finishing. We weren’t the last bus to arrive, so, it attracted a very big turn-out.
Truly a photo for Trevor to be proud of. Great day, great turnout to protest bad law.
About time.
Trevor – if you are referring to the bunch of rag-tags walking down Lambton Quay then someone is feeding you mis-information.
No – he is refering to the people who were at parliament grounds, of whom there were a few thousand. There was no official single march to parliament, people came from all directions. All of them employed taxpayers who are disturbed by the employment legislation being brought through by the National/ACT government. All of them wanting to fight it.
Good on ya
Good cause, beautiful lady, Trev has had a great day
Students tomorrow too I hope!
I went to the one at Parliament today. A very good, large, enthusiastic crowd. I wouldn’t want to be the groundsman at Parliament dealing with the muddy turf, though.
I bet the bleepers vote it in, against student will, bleepin hell!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@ Monty in your dreams
pdm supports Employers and the Government.
Well said Monty.
I am a Labour supporter and have sent a message to Helen Kelly; I did not go to any march today as I have just been through a lengthy and distressing internal review. Some of the union organisers were, to put it bluntly, as much use as a chocolate fire guard.
I am all for workers rights, especially when they are working in the public services; during our restructure the PSA were solely interested in retaining membership, not ensuring public services. I am pleased the CTU see the protection of public services as a priority, we all need to be on the same page.
pdm… whoopdy doo… did it take you long to learn that slogan?
pdm and monty, do you subscibe tot he view that it’s either employers or employees, we cant have an environment which is fair to both?
I havent seen a single piece of evidence that shows a single person has been hired under the 90 day trial to a position that would not have existed without it.
What I have heard is anecdotal evidence that employers are hiring to a position someone they may have had doubts about over a more “conservative” choice. This is a different kettle of fish, and frankly I have my doubts, both as an employer and observer of employers that employers are truly taking on a “risky” employee when there is a safe choice.
Was The Hobbit a small firm?, how would a collective have fit? Too bad ..meddling ozzie union has forced it offshore. Once was Wellywood.
@Pedrovsky – distortion, deflection, distraction and blame-shifting. It was always on the cards for The Hobbit to go offshore due to the relatively low financial incentives being offered by the NACT government. Other countries are offering double.
Also, while it may not be filmed in NZ, the pre- & post- production will be. Lots of work for Weta, and financial returns for many Kiwis.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1010/S00119/gordon-campbell-on-the-hobbit-countdown-to-d-day.htm
No, we can’t give up on Wellywood,
, we just need to keep on fighting! 
carol – rubbish – just look at the time / effort all done already with sets etc – it was going to be filmed here and the unions have killed the movie.
Nothing to do with tax cuts etc – thats just a diversion.
The unions need to put their hands up and say “we killed it”
Shame on them.
Yes, look at the timing, chris? Why is PJ and company making this announcement now? Nothing has happened, nothing decided.
Helen Kelly (on Nat Rad this morning) says they (CTU & the actors) agreed with Warners that they would call off the actors’ boycott, as negotiations were underway. Warners apparently asked Kelly that they (Warners) would make the announcement that the boycott is called off. But before Warners has done this, PJ and co come out with this inflamatory press release.
So what is Warners up to? And are Kiwis generally being fragmented, manipulated and set against each other?
Maybe it’s time for NZ to give more control to its movie & TV industry, skills, resources and workers, rather than selling it’s (all our) souls to powerful, ruthless and greedy overseas corporates?
I never understand why some of my comments go into moderation and others don’t. They all seem to get released without mderator comment after a while.
When you refer to someone who is themselves moderated you get caught. Trevor
“Why is PJ and company making this announcement now? Nothing has happened, nothing decided.”
Yeah – its all Peter Jacksons fault.
He has spent 40 years working on getting this up and running. Has invested millions of his own money and made a lot of this his lifes work.
He has built sets, soured sights, etc etc spending months if not years getting ready.
But it was all a cunning trick really – he never intended on filming here.
Oh – hang on – that dosnt make sense.
It was all “go” until the unions got involved. Thats the timings you should be looking at. Now – it could all be over.
Lets keep the accountability right where it needs to be – and thats with the unions.
And if anyone things the general public are in sympathy with the unions on this and that it was worth losing the Hobbit – then you are simply delusional.
This sucks
Gordon Campbell explains it.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1010/S00119/gordon-campbell-on-the-hobbit-countdown-to-d-day.htm
Jackson and the corporates aren’t focussed on a few hundred thousand dollars worth of workers minimum terms and conditions.
They are using a deliberate fight with workers and unions to try and pressure the Govt to give over tens of millions in additional tax breaks.
Wrong, dead wrong, stop backing the corporates in their manouevering against the NZ government and back your fellow NZ workers instead.
series of comments deleted for lying. Ban coming soon Trevor
Why does your party president and his union mates scupper the employment opportunities and the half billion that was going to be spent on the Hobbit – the public will quickly turn very feral if you continue to utilise the unions to crap on NZ in this manner
Deleted offensive Trevor
When do we hear from Phil Goff or some other Labour Party MP on this issue?
Expect to hear a lot more anti-union jackups and spin towards the election. Like NACT pretending to keep talking to teachers until close to exams.
Phil was there and put out statement yesterday – as i did. Catch up Gosman.
Re Hobbit: is this a set-up by those who have the real power?
Times are changing and they are difficult for working NZers.
I’m not a union member but I joined such a rally yesterday for the first time in my life to stand with my fellow NZers whose livelihood and human rights might be affected.
Good on you Gary
!
!
Fight fight fight!
@ Gary Jones. Yes, it does look like that,or at the very least some opportunism on Key’s part, using the Hobbit issue to undermine workers & union rights generally.
But NACT were always pretty certasin to be throwing everything in their power to undermine the resurgent left.
I hope you don’t let you support for the union actions waver in the face of this. The left just needs to be smarter in getting their story out to the people.
NACT is going to continue to use his kind of corporate and media influence, and alliances with powerful interests – and they will use it in any way they can to manipulate opinions, and undermine the resurgent left.
Good on those who need to and can fight back!
For me personally, I offer support and help to my neighbour, my fellow NZers in the hour of need, when it counts.
Principle of workers’ solidarity – sometimes you fight for others even when its not your interests on the line but only theirs – because one day you may need their help in return.
You have to question why Warner and the Government have made this public instead of just negotiating.
Publicity KJT, they like publicity, neither likes unions.
You should see the Herald debate on this subject – makes you realise that the lesser spotted red neck is alive and well in NZ!
The truth is starting to come out right this moment. Warners are going for a bigger subsidy. All the rest of the publicity is NACT and co putting the boot into “Big bad unions”. Expect to see a lot more jack-ups like this as the election nears.
Just hope union bosses are more circumspect about giving ammunition in future.
One would not be surprised if this was a big set up – from Warners wanting extra subsidies, Key wanting to jack up unions, and offshore interests using our kiwi actors as pawns to scuttle our movie industry so their own become more successful and get the work…
As for fighting alongside others in the cause of freedom, democracy and equity – too right you do it when its not of direct interest to you for you may indeed need someone on your side one day. Its called community and solidarity – something the govt wants to break down. Oh how proud a kiwi I am – not.
Poor Paul,
I have seen this sort of play so many times from both the union and management side I find it hard to believe it was not scripted. Helped of course by the naivety of the unions concerned.