The Transpacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) has shrunk into the 11 member “Comprehensive and Progressive Transpacific Agreement” (I’ll call it the TPPA-11) with the exit of Trump’s USA. The Government is now selling it to us as sufficiently improved to be worth signing and ratifying. There are some improvements but it is still a bad deal.… Read more »
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http://www.together.org.nz/the_urgency_of_a_just_transition_for_climate
Read more...It’s a crucial part of the mythology around National Party Governments that they are “good economic managers”, as their new leader, Simon Bridges, is repeating. The business commentariat repeat it endlessly too. How true is this?
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It’s refreshing to start a new year with the hope that the change of Government has brought. Many of its initiatives take additional government spending so one of the Government’s big challenges is to ensure it has the revenue to carry out its programme, and the willingness to spend it.
Read more... The Council of Trade Unions is expressing its sympathy to the family of Jim Anderton following his death overnight, and marking his huge contribution to New Zealand political life. CTU president Richard Wagstaff said that Jim Anderton had been a friend and ally to working people throughout his extensive political career. “Working people experienced dark… Read more »
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Wages are important socially and economically, but wages are low in New Zealand. We are in a low wage rut, dependent on low wage industries like agriculture and tourism. Low wages contribute to New Zealand’s high income inequality which has many negative effects. We have evidence that high inequality can lead to social breakdown as… Read more »
Read more... Download a full copy of the speech: Richard Wagstaff’s CTU Conference Speech 2017
Read more...The announcement that Auckland electricity and gas provider Vector has become a fully-accredited Living Wage employer is a landmark move says Council of Trade Unions President Richard Wagstaff. “While local authorities have received the most attention, initial support for the Living Wage in the private sector has come from small employers. So it is brilliant… Read more »
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In August, the Centre for Labour, Employment and Work (CLEW) at Victoria University released their annual analysis of collective employment agreements (CEAs). It shows again that people who are part of a collective get better pay rises: the union pay premium. For the year to June 2017 CLEW finds that on average wages in collectives… Read more »
Read more... The Council of Trade Unions today welcomes Iain Lees-Galloway as incoming Minister of Workplace Relations, of Immigration, and of ACC. “Iain has an excellent grasp of workplace relations and its associated portfolios. There is a lot to be done to ensure economic growth delivers real benefits for working people, and that we improve the way… Read more »
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