July, 2003

"The All Black bonus deal is a tribute to the Employment Relations Act and the union-based collective bargaining processes it provides," Council of Trade Unions president Ross Wilson said today.

"The upgrading of the Holidays Bill is long overdue and there is a groundswell of support for four weeks annual leave," Council of Trade Unions president Ross Wilson said today.

The Council of Trade Unions says the launch of the skill new zealand campaign to encourage workplace learning is good news for workers, and will help to build a strong economy.

The Council of Trade Unions is against the proposed easing of Easter Sunday trading restrictions.

A working group set up to advise the Government on shop trading hours has recommended allowing more shops to open on Easter Sunday.

The Council of Trade Unions is pleased the findings of a Government inquiry released today recognises the suffering of workers who've been exposed to dangerous chemicals, and provides some practical solutions.

The Council of Trade Unions says today's 0.25 per cent cut in the official cash rate is too modest, and there was an opportunity for a more substantial movement.

"There is only a tiny risk that a 0.5 per cent cut would threaten the top of the inflation band in the future," CTU economist Peter Conway said today. "But there is a much bigger risk that a 0.25 per cent cut is too small to take the pressure off the NZ dollar, and give a boost to business confidence at a time that the economy is slowing."

The CTU is concerned that unnecessarily high interest rates will have a flow-on effect that will result in job losses.

Peter Conway said that the recent fall in annual CPI to 1.5 per cent emphasised that there is not a problem with inflation, and gave room for a more significant cut in interest rates.

Problems such as low pay and discrimination faced by Pacific workers are on the agenda at the Council of Trade Unions' two-day Komiti Pasefika Biennial Fono, which starts in Auckland tomorrow.

"We have received a plea from the Solomon Islands Council of Trade Unions to support the New Zealand Government's intervention, and for trade union support for their people," the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions president Ross Wilson said today.

The challenge for the Savings Forum meeting tomorrow is to identify a process which will achieve a consensus on retirement savings policy, Council of Trade Unions president Ross Wilson said today.

"New research by Victoria University strongly supports the Council of Trade Unions' case for strengthening of the Employment Relations Act," CTU president Ross Wilson said today.

The Bluff port company, Southport, is setting a very poor example as a public employer and the Council of Trade Unions will be organising all the assistance possible to ensure that workers there get a fair pay deal, CTU president Ross Wilson said today.

Bluff workers, local townspeople and supporters from as far north as Port Chalmers will be picketing the log boat Northern Light from early on Saturday morning at Southport in Bluff.

The Council of Trade Unions says that today's consumer price figures should provide a firm basis for a 50 basis points cut in the official cash rate next week.

The fall in annual CPI confirms that growth rather than inflation is the key challenge.

"Although the CPI figure released today is for the last year, the CPI outlook is also benign," said CTU economist Peter Conway.

"This means a rate cut of 0.5 per cent is a sensible decision for the Reserve Bank next week."

Peter Conway said that prior to the last review of monetary policy, the CTU was calling for a 0.5 per cent cut and was disappointed that only a 0.25 per cent cut was made.

"A stronger cut would have sent a signal to speculators on the NZ dollar."

Peter Conway said that although the CTU is not predicting a "hard landing" for the economy, it is concerned that if interest rates do not ease to boost investment, reduce mortgage interest payments to assist consumption, and reduce the pressure on the NZ dollar, then jobs will be lost.

Trade unions are leading a campaign to save thousands of jobs in the textile, clothing and footwear industry that are under threat from tariff reduction.

Over the next month or so, the Government will be making decisions on the future of these industries as it decides the level of tariff that will be applied to imported products after 2005.

The Clothing Workers Union, the National Distribution Union and the Council of Trade Unions are sending out 10,000 postcards which they are urging people to sign and send to the Prime Minister.

The cards call for the tariff freeze set in 2000 to continue, to both stabilise the industry and save jobs. Around 18,000 workers are employed in the textile, clothing and footwear industries ? less than half the number of 15 years ago.

"Every time tariff levels go down, imports increase, factories close and jobs are lost," Council of Trade Unions secretary Carol Beaumont said today.

The Council of Trade Unions credits the Government for implementing the tariff freeze, and wants to see it extended to at least 2008, with the next review beginning in 2005.

One of the reports that the government is considering in its current review calls for the reduction of tariffs from 2006 to reach zero by 2012.

"This would mean more closures, more job losses and would undo all the good work that has been done to keep the industry viable. The government must reject this approach," Carol Beaumont said.

The CTU supports an economic development approach to the sector and has supported an industry development group of unions and employers, which the Government also helped establish.

The Rail and Maritime Transport Union says work at the port of Bluff is likely to come to a standstill this week as workers picket in support of a 48-hour stoppage.

The strike will start at midday on Thursday (July 17) and end at noon on Saturday.

The RMTU has just 19 members employed by the port company, Southport, but has a commitment from the Maritime Union of New Zealand members also employed at the port, that they will respect the picket lines.

RMTU members from ports around the South Island are expected in Bluff to strengthen the picket.

"Rail workers based in Invercargill are also likely to man the picket lines," said RMTU general secretary Wayne Butson. "So there'll be no way trains will make it through on to the wharf."

Wayne Butson says over half of its members at the Bluff port are employed under a casual contract. They are paid $9.92 an hour and haven't had a pay rise for 11 years.

"These guys are trying to raise families," he said. "The company refuses to give a commitment to improving this rate.

"Pay and conditions in Bluff are the lowest of any operating port in New Zealand," Wayne Butson said. "There's no doubt that Southport is the worst port employer in the country."

The collective contract, which covers six full-time workers, expired at the end of March, 2002, and the RMTU is asking for a wage rise equalling the CPI.

"Southport is consistently performing well and making a profit, which our members contribute to, and is not struggling to pay," he said

The union says no progress was achieved through mediation, and talks have broken down.

"There's been no strike action at the port for more than a decade," Wayne Butson said. "The level of frustration among workers is also at the company still being locked into the Employment Contracts Act mentality of the 1990s."

Business New Zealand is following its usual scare tactics by making exaggerated claims about the potential impact of four weeks annual leave, Council of Trade Unions president Ross Wilson said today.

"The PSA settlement of special one-off payments for DOC employees is a clear example of the benefits of collective bargaining," Council of Trade Unions president Ross Wilson said today.

The Council of Trade Unions says the publication of new OSH guidelines for managing stress and fatigue in the workplace recognises the potentially devastating consequences of these issues for workers.

The pay gap between men and women is a major cause of economic discrimination in New Zealand, and the economic reforms of the 1990s have resulted in a significant group of women and children living in poverty, the United Nations has been told today.

The Council of Trade Unions says that the changes to immigration policy are a sensible response to the need for better matching of immigrants to areas of skill shortages.

"However there needs to be a balance between investment in skill development, training and employment programmes for those already here, and immigration initiatives," CTU secretary, Carol Beaumont, said today.

The CTU acknowledged that the Government had significantly increased funding for industry training, but this needed to continue, she said.

"In addition, higher rates of pay, and improved working conditions will assist the retention of workers in New Zealand.

"The CTU also wants to ensure that migrants in the workforce are aware of their basic employment entitlements, including their right to join a union," Carol Beaumont said.

"But, perhaps the key issue from yesterday's announcement is that it focuses again on the need for good settlement procedures that build relationships between new migrants and other workers - in the workplace and in the wider community."

The management of Auckland group Sante Fe Gold learnt a lesson in workers' rights they are unlikely to forget, after a picket sent a message directly to their wallets.

The management of Santa Fe Gold who manage several major adult entertainment bars including Auckland Showgirls sacked five cleaners after they joined the Unite Union. The workers had contacted the union after being subjected to continual verbal abuse including racist comments. One worker was even assaulted.

Management also failed to meet minimum health and safety standards. They weren't being paid sick pay or days off in lieu for working public holidays. Workers had to work 6-7 hours without a break

After three weeks of attempted mediation, Matt McCarten, the Director of Unite, pulled the plug on mediation. McCarten said in an interview with Socialist Worker The employers are happy to sit in the courts and workers can often be marginalised by the legal process. We decided to use the lost art of applying pressure to the employer directly through their pocket.

The picket was held on Friday the 27th of June outside Showgirls in downtown Auckland. The picket lasted two hours despite police harassment, in that time only five people crossed the picket. The picket started with over 15 people and grew to over 40 at its height.

Two hours before the Saturday picket started Unite received a call from the management asked them not to go ahead. They claimed the picket the night before had cost them well over $10,000 and they would like to meet with the Union the next day.

At the Sunday meeting, the management agreed to investigate all the unions allegations and committed to remedy any wrongs and reinstate any worker found to be wrongly dismissed. They also agreed to consider favourably an employment agreement and acknowledged the freedom to join unions.

Unite is now watching to see whether the employer will keep their word, but is ready to carry the industrial struggle in to the streets again. The bosses don't like fronting up to the public to explain themselves. I know it works.

by John Anderson

unite.union@clear.net.nz
Unite Union
P.O. Box 27-214
Wellington
Tel: (04) 385 2529
Fax: (04) 385 2528

"Nursing staff levels are stretched to the limit as the flu factor and other winter ills hit hospitals around the country," said the Nurses Organisation's Organising Services Manager Laila Harr? today.