labour.org.nz | Facebook | Twitter | Red Alert Radio

Red Alert

Posts Tagged ‘low pay’

Minimum Wage misery

Posted by on February 8th, 2012

The government’s announcement today of a 50 cents an hour increase in the minimum wage has left me feeling both relieved and depressed.

I’m relieved because at least the increase is 50 cents an hour, rather than the miserly 25 cents an hour in last year’s minimum wage increase –  even  if it still leaves a minimum wage worker only 20 cents an hour better off in real terms than they were after National’s first minimum wage increase in April 2009.    

But I’m depressed because of another lost opportunity to do something tangible about soaring income inequality in New Zealand.

The government, despite its crocodile tears and phony concern about poverty and the impact on families and children has ignored what would have been a significant step in addressing income inequality.

But I’m relieved that there is almost a majority in parliament for increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour, with Labour, the Greens, Maori Party and NZ First all condemning the government’s short sighted decision today.  The only party that stands in the way of that happening is the one man band ACT  Party – whose only comment today has been to criticise the government’s increase in the new entrant and trainee rate to $10.80 an hour. (Sorry, United Future could be a game changer on this, but don’t hold your breath).

Should be an interesting one to watch.

Tags: ,
Filed under: low pay, minimum wage, Workers
80 Comments

Courier Drivers – a small business issue

Posted by on October 9th, 2011

Good piece in the Sunday Star Times today about the reality of working as a Courier Driver.  The impact of cut-throat competition, unfair contracting and a lack of minimum protection for dependent contractors is illustrated well.

Courier drivers are struggling to earn a living wage, with incomes stalled at about the same level as they were 20 years ago, while running costs have exploded. Urgent Couriers’ managing director Steve Bonnici said prices had been slashed due to cut-throat competition, which only intensified during the economic downturn of the past few years. Bonnici said prices have been cut to “ridiculous levels” – and it wasn’t just small, fly-by-night operators doing the cutting. As contractors, drivers had few of the benefits of employees, yet they were still obliged to wear a corporate uniform, work certain hours, apply for annual leave, and work exclusively for one company – as well as providing their own vehicles.

I’ve been on about this for some time now, including calling for SafeRates and better protections for all drivers. My Minimum Wage and Remuneration Bill, which would have provided at least minimum wage protection to these contractors was voted down early in the term of the National Government.

The National government, despite claiming it is the party for small business, has ignored the problems for small business operators like those in the Courier Industry.

“Anecdotal evidence from couriers looking for work indicates some firms are paying less than the minimum wage of $13 an hour. That’s not enough to live on, especially for drivers with families and mortgages”, Bonnici said……

“It’s sad what’s happened to our industry; there are plenty of owner-drivers out there whose revenue before expenses is barely the minimum hourly wage. After they have paid costs out of this revenue they are below the poverty line,” said Paul Holdom, who developed CourierPost Urgent for NZ Post and is now sales manager at Inter City Urgent.

The  industry is now coming around to the view that regulation might work better so that there is protection for small business operators who are totally dependent on one firm for their income.

“Every other industry has the minimum wage. You can’t put an ad in the paper offering employment at $7.50 an hour”, Bonnici says.

I’ve had a lot of contact with courier and other drivers over the last three years. Some of their stories are shocking.

Another piece in today’s SST  gives an insight into what Labour’s policy will include when it is announced on the 18th October.

Karl Anderson, First Union’s representative for transport and logistics in the Northern Region, said legislative protection was coming in Australia and it was the union’s desire to see it here too.

“I don’t think we have a bolter’s show under a Key government, which is ironic, given they say they are the saviours of small businesspeople,” he said.

Sadly, he’s right.

Tags:
Filed under: Contractors, low pay, minimum wage, transport, Uncategorized
27 Comments

John Key’s Pizza Guy

Posted by on July 21st, 2010

Sanjay, the Pizza Hutt worker who delivered John Key’s pizza earlier this week and who, according to Mr Key, thinks John Key’s idea of a 90 day trial period is a good idea, should know that Prime Minister John Key voted against him getting minimum wage last year.

Mr Key obviously doesn’t know that workers like Sanjay have no rights anyway because Pizza Hutt drivers are independent contractors and not covered by basic employment laws, let alone trial periods. 

Last year, I tried to persuade the National Party to support my members’ bill (Minimum Wage and Remuneration Amendment Bill) which would have ensured that so-called “independent contractors” like Sanjay would have received at least the minimum wage. 

But guess what, they voted against it and the opportunity was lost.

Much of John Key’s and Kate Wilkinson’s pronouncements about their proposed labour changes this week are based on a view that is sharply skewed by their contact with employers.   The Labour Department evaluation of the 90 day trial period interviewed ar0und 3,500 employers and just 13 workers, so one has to question how balanced the evidence is that the PM is basing his decisions on.

John Key tried to make out he was sympathetic to workers like Sanjay this week by telling the story of this pizza delivery guy who came to his mansion in Parnell. 

But when he had a chance to really make a difference to Sanjay and other contract workers, his government failed.

Tags: , ,
Filed under: low pay, workforce
60 Comments

Why don’t you just bugger off to Australia? I am.

Posted by on April 6th, 2010

Spent an enjoyable lunch hour on the picket line with members of the Service and Food Workers Union protesting a zero pay offer from the IHC. These workers do difficult work, helping people with intellectual disabilities live an ordinary life. A 2% wage increase doesn’t seem unreasonable in my view.

The union says the IHC has already received a 2% increase in funding from the Ministry of Health for their residential services but it is refusing to pass any of that on to their front line workers. It also seems reasonable compared to the kind of pay increase Bill English is dishing out to highly paid executives courtesy of National’s tax cuts.

There was a classic moment of unintended irony when a passerby started yelling at the workers:  “What are ya worried about? If you are not getting paid enough why don’t you just bugger off to Australia?  I am!”

Precisely. The exodus to Australia figured large in National’s campaign rhetoric, but they have done nothing since the election that makes me think they want to close the trans-Tasman pay gap.

Tags: , ,
Filed under: labour, low pay, union
34 Comments

Jaine gets a payrise

Posted by on March 23rd, 2010

Jaine Ikurere

There’s more going on in Parliament than Trevor’s canny cornering of the government today and the hilarious debate that followed.  These things keep us amused, but I was just as happy to hear that Jaine Ikurere, who cleans John Key’s office is to get a payrise. 

Thanks to the hard work of her union and the cleaners’ staunch support, Jaine’s pay will go up by 50 cents an hour to $13.10.  It’s not the $14.62 that other cleaners get in the public sector, but there is provision for that to occur, should the client fund it.

The client, in Jaine’s case, is Parliamentary Services.   That’s why Labour MPs wrote to the Speaker a few weeks ago.  He’s the Minister in charge of Parliamentary Services and we want the budget for cleaning our offices to be increased by the small amount necessary to enable the contractor to pay them more. 

We got the expected response.  Very sympathetic, but the bargaining is between the union and the employer.  The Speaker is not the employer and can’t get involved in negotiations.  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

But the government can put more money into the parliamentary services budget and ring-fence it to fund a decent pay jolt for the lowest paid – just as Labour did for Hospital service workers and School Cleaners. 

I’m pleased Jaine got a pay increase.  She did it with her workmates and her union. 

Now for the next $1.52 an hour.

Tags:
Filed under: low pay, parliament, protest, redundancy, workforce
9 Comments

A Bit Rich?

Posted by on December 19th, 2009

There is a view that those who work in higher paying jobs contribute more to New Zealand than those in low-end jobs. I see it on this blog sometimes. I’ve been reading some research debunking that and some of the other myths around pay and work.

Some of you may have caught the interview on Checkpoint recently about the research from the New Economics Foundation, (a UK think-tank)  called “A Bit Rich? – calculating the real value to society of different professions.”

A Bit Rich looks at whether those that get more contribute more to society. A number of professions were chosen from across the private and public sectors. Three are low paid – a hospital cleaner, a recycling plant worker and a childcare worker. The others are highly paid – a City banker, an advertising executive and a tax accountant.

The research examined the contributions these jobs make to society, and found that it was the lower paid jobs which involved more valuable work. For example, for for every £1 bankers make, they destroy £7 of social value. Whereas for every £1 childcare workers are paid, they generate between  and £9.50 worth of benefits to society. For every £1 a hospital cleaner is paid they generate over £10 in social value, but an advertising executive destroys £11 for every £1 in value they generate.

The report goes on to challenge ten of the most popular myths surrounding pay and work. People who earn more don’t necessarily work harder than those who earn less. The private sector is not necessarily more efficient than the public sector. And high salaries don’t necessarily reflect talent.

The report concludes with a series of policy recommendations that would reduce the inequality between different incomes and reconnect pay with the value of work.  These include what they call “ending the policy silence on high pay”  and advocating a national maximum pay differential – a recommendation that’s bound to get some people going!

Have a read, and while you’re at it, check out their other research on economics and the planet.

Tags:
Filed under: jobs, low pay, workforce
15 Comments