The focus of the last week has been on rescue; and on who have lost their lives. That’s as it should be.
We mourn the dead, particularly those workers who were just going about their daily working lives when the earthquake struck. But the hard stuff starts now. The earthquake will take its toll most on working people and their families.
Sadly there’s a lot more grief to come. I’m relieved to hear that union and Labour staff are fine, but there have been injuries and family or union members among the missing and the dead. The Trade Union Centre in downtown Christchurch looks munted and workers had to climb across the bricks to safety. Unions are looking for somewhere else to come together as they assess the damage to lives and jobs. They have as important a role in this tragedy as anyone else and their members will turn to them for help and support.
It’s workers and union members who are at the forefront of the effort facing Christchurch right now – the firefighters, rescue workers, health workers, social support workers, education workers, to name just a few. Stories are emerging of workers who took brave action to save workmates in precarious situations.
Caregivers have helped relocate hundreds of older adults from aged care facilities to other parts of the country, others have kept caring for their charges with disabilities, nurses have rolled up their sleeves and reported for work and MSD workers around the country have been on the phone to the vulnerable in the Christchurch community. Thousands of workers have volunteered to provide food, shelter, transport and friendship. This is despite the losses among the working community of Christchurch.
Forgive me, but I can’t help but note the irony that we are relying so much on the public service to be at the forefront of this. This is, in case you have forgotten, “the bloated public service” Bill English likes to talk about.
Redundancy announcements have begun – the first in a Christchurch rest home on Friday. Today, more than 230 jobs in New World supermarkets. There will be issues about pay, ACC, health and safety, and access to support. There will be an avalanche of job losses and, sadly, a build up of trauma. Many workers have witnessed things that will be with them for a long time to come.
The government has made some announcements, which are a good start. There needs to be more and I hope there will be. One suggestion: they should consider removing tax on redundancy pay, so workers can make any payments they receive stretch a bit further before they have to ask for work and income assistance.
We have to be there for the workers of Christchurch. Sadness, grief, loss come first – but then a whole lot more as the impact on every day workers lives and those of their families emerge.
Let’s stand with them.
As a Civil Servant I’m not covered by these payments, and have not been told what happens next week.
Happy to be alive. I thought contingency planning isn’t that hard, or is it just announcing it that’s hard?
Well I’m mourning those who aren’t workers as much as those lucky enough to have had a job.
Absolute rubbish. It’s volunteers, community and human spirit which is at the forefront.
This is a very sad blog entry that is looking to politicize something that is beyond politics! The loss in Christchurch goes beyond workers & union members to all reaches of the community and we need to look beyond petty politics. Darien you really have stooped to a new low.
Your overall sentiment is of the right tone, but you really need to drop the snide “English and Co” type comments – despite prefacing them with ‘forgive me’ the fact remains that there are still many missing and many yet unidentified just a week on, and there is absolutely no place for such petty politics. For shame.
It’s not just the workers of ChCh. People are losing jobs in Auckland as well because of the quake. It happened to me but no big tragedy in my case because it was not a permanent job but a short term contract. A processing centre or something was in ChCh, the building was in the part that was closed and there is no access. I lost about 3 weeks of work I’d be otherwise doing and the employer decided to pay us in full for this time as if we were working, suggesting that we either donate the extra money, or our extra time (volunteer labour) to the relief effort, but they did not ask for proof of doing this… A great gesture but frankly most people kept the money and went to look for a new job immediately before there is more competition and you can’t really blame them. I’m no saint myself here, I did some volunteering but not as much time as I’d spend working because there are limited options of doing something if you are so far away from ChCh.
Statistics NZ did a good thing paying the workers for the cancelled census – it was in the news and I’m sure they inspired many other employers to do the same, mine announced they’ll pay on the same day when it was in the news that Statistics NZ have done this.
Such things help short term but long-term damage to the economy will be huge
@ Darren and Gooner; clearly neither of you work in the public sector – I do!
Our department had 24 staff this time last year, we now have 16; the work we were contracted to do is not being met because we simply do not have the human resources to do it. The earthquake is the straw that breaks the donkeys back. I work in the health sector; my colleagues in ChCh are doing extra duties because they want to help people – in fact that is why most public service work there – they are altruistic, care for others.
My wife is on standby to go an relieve their staff should this be required (neonatal intensive care). Nobody is forcing her. However, Darien raises a very important point – the irony of Bill English praising services that he has slashed the budgets of.
You get the services you pay for; sadly NACT felt tax cuts were more important than investing in the countries staff.
Everyone has been having to tighten their belts – there are restructures and lay offs happening all over the private sector. The earthquake will exacerbate this, especially for small business and retailers. Why do old labour types think that the public service is in some sort of alternate universe that shouldn’t be impacted by a recession.
Ian, those public servants deserve to be commended, and praised. But at the end of the day they are doing their job. They are being paid. The volunteers, communities, neighbours and citizens in general are doing it for the love of their community, their neighbours, friends and Christchurch in general. They get no money. They have probably lost everything, but they are show you don’t need bureaucrats and ministries to support society. People can do it themselves.
Where is the UN in all of this? I have yet to see the UN flag in ChCh.
Funny that.
@darrenw – This isn’t about “petty politics”. It’s recognising that there are a whole lot of people hurt by this tragedy – that they have different roles in life and different backgrounds and whether you like it or not, workers and unions are part of our world. Suggest you read the whole post properly.
@gooner – Not rising to the bait, sorry.
@Ian & Melusina – thank you.
@Larry – where do I suggest that the public service shouldn’t be impacted? Everyone’s going to be hurt by this one, but I get a bit tired of the attacks on public sector workers.
That was in response to Ian… I thought given it directly followed his comment, that might have been clear.
But regardless, it is disappointing to see labour using the earthquake to attack National’s state sector policy. This blinkered approach ignores that there are some things that are far bigger than party politics – such as a natural disaster. This is a large part of why labour remains hamstrung and why it has next to no chance of even being competitive in November.
@ Darien Taking a swipe at a policy of an opponent in these circumstances is petty! Workers & unions are indeed part of the affected community but now is not the time for politics. Imagine if this disaster actually bought people together? This won’t happen if you stir up drivel like your post. Please honor the lost and respect their diversity and let there be a chance for a legacy of good to come from the tragedy.
Just repeating the cheap shots of the past. Sorry if it has offended anyone.
Have you no shame Darien?
This post should be removed immediately. People are helping people, it matters not a jot where they come from or their background.
Politics shouldn’t matter in the aftermath of such a disaster, but unfortunately National is shamelessly using the earthquake to ram through unpopular neoliberal policies, that will benefit better off people, now and in the long run. It’s a disgrace that National are playing on people’s shock and goodwill in this way.
Gooner, when will you right wing dickheads realise that the natural condition for people is family and neighbourhood and community and a helping hand for strangers, and not ruthless individual ambition and greed as you would have us believe. Your fundamental philospohy is unnatural, as the good folks of Christchurch are proving as every hour passes …
@David : I am Labour’s spokesperson for labour – that is my area of responsibility so of course I am taking an interest on the impact on workers and the contribution they are making to an awful tragedy. Doesn’t mean no-one else matters.
@Larry – so your comment isn’t “political”?????
test post – I see my post once made. They go into moderation – then they vanish? Are they simply being deleted?
Your suggestion of removing the tax on redundancy payments would help.
It is nice to see you agree that tax cuts help get things moving, this is a huge change in policy from the Labour spokesperson on labour.
Well done on the progressive thinking.
@David – It was National that increased the tax on redundancy payments last budget. Labour had reduced it in its last term.
Don’t worry about who did what to whom, and when.
You agree with tax cuts to help the economy.
That is great, and as I said progressive thinking.
Well done.
@David – very wry. We’re not talking politics here are we?
Good post Darien.
@ jennifer, when are you left wing morons going to comprehension school?
My “fundamental philosophy” is exactly what you’ve written about.
Borderline comment Gooner. Be careful. Don’t be offensive. Clare
Clare..
Lets be fair – Jennifer says “Gooner, when will you right wing dickheads ..”
and it passes moderation without issue – somewhat more offensive than gooners ‘moron’ I would have thought (I did point it out before buy my comment was deleted by someone there.
Thanks Chris. That’s why I wrote it.