THE UNIONIST: Work rights are our right, long hours

In The Unionist this week: National's employment relations policy, and kiwis working long hours (still).

Work rights are our right

“Cuts in workers’ rights and entitlements and privatisation are all this party has to offer to date," Council of Trade Unions president Helen Kelly said last week, following the release of National's employment relations policy.

"The threats to workers rights hinted at in their employment policy release just add to their policy to privatise ACC, allow 90 days of unfairness at work, remove free early childhood education and threaten KiwiSaver contributions. Nationals policy does not mention how they will lift wages, suggests workers could lose the fourth week of annual leave and have pay for statutory holidays cut, and reduces the democratic right of workers to belong to unions. This is consistent with them opposing all legislation that has improved workers lives over the last 9 years.”

Reprinted with permission from Mike Moreu

The CTU today released a critique of National's policy, taking note of what was missing from the policy announcement, such as their plans for the paid parental leave scheme, which more than 100,000 parents have benefited from.  The critique also said National was silent on any concrete strategies to lift wages.

"With this policy we are seeing National's intentions including the desire to take all work rights off many workers in the first 90 days of a new job, to stop workers from getting on-site representation, cut their holiday pay and put pressure on vulnerable workers to give up their fourth week's annual leave," said Andrew Little, National Secretary of the Engineering, Printing & Manufacturing Union.

The EPMU is running 25 mass member rallies around New Zealand this August to promote the importance of strong work rights to higher wages, safer workplaces and better conditions.

The New Zealand Educational Institute said National's policy would do nothing to stop the thousands of New Zealanders heading across the Tasman in search of better wages, and the union reiterated their concern around the 90 days no rights proposal. NZEI National Secretary Paul Goluter said if such a policy was applied to thousands of small schools and early childhood centres around the country, it would have profound implications on professional and career development, and exacerbate teacher supply and shortage issues.

The Public Service Association said John Key says nothing about how National will lift wages as workers face rising fuel and food prices, and the union also took issue with the threat to workers keeping four weeks annual leave.

"It's short-sighted and dangerous to allow workers who under pressure to jeopardise their health by selling their holidays," PSA National Secretary Richard Wagstaff said.

National Secretary of the National Distribution Union Laila Harré said the policy would keep wages down in the rapidly growing service industries where unionisation and collective bargaining was just starting to recover and deliver improvements for some of the lowest paid workers in the country.

Finsec's Andrew Campbell said: “the next government needs to focus on policies that lift wages, not make them worse. Strengthen job security, not weaken it. A positive policy framework for all New Zealanders cannot be based on diminishing work rights. That would be a giant step backwards."

Audio/video: Click here to listed to the CTU on Radio NZ's Morning Report on Friday morning (or download the podcast here), and click here to see the EPMU's Andrew Little speaking on TVNZ 7.

See also: CTU Critique - National's 2008 Employment Policy

Click here for the CTU's election page.

Kiwis working long hours

New Department of Labour research out last week shows many of us are still working more than 50 hours.   

The research used 2006 Census data, and found 415,641 respondents reported working 50 or more hours each week, representing 22.68% of the workforce.  

CTU president Helen Kelly told TV3's Sunrise programme last Friday that the research showed those who were working 50 hours or more were split between two groups.  Those that are clearly not earning enough per hour, and are having to work more and more hours to make ends meet, and those that are earning a good wage but where expectations or work culture is causing them to work very long hours.

"There does need to be a reassessment of work priorities, how big some of these jobs are, whether there are expectations that are unreasonable in these roles, and with the group that are on low wages we say they need to be paid more so they dont need to work these sorts of hours," Helen Kelly said. 

Audio/video: Click here to see Helen Kelly discuss the issue on TV3's Sunrise programme.  And click here to see NDU National Laila Harré discuss the same report on TVNZ's breakfast programme, (or click here to download an audio only podcast).

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