June, 2004

The Labour movement has lost one of its most dedicated and extraordinary characters with the death of Pat Kelly, Council of Trade Unions president Ross Wilson said today.

Pat Kelly, a former official of the Drivers Union, the long-time secretary of the Cleaners Union and president of the Wellington Trades Council during the days of the Federation of Labour, died this afternoon.

"Pat dedicated his working life to fighting for the rights of his fellow workers," Ross Wilson said. "He was a real character of the trade union movement."

Alongside his dedication to unions, Mr Kelly was also widely involved in social movements such as opposition to the war in Vietnam, the campaign against apartheid in South Africa, anti-nuclear protests and the peace movement.

Mr Kelly was in Wellington Trades Hall when his best friend and fellow union organiser, Ernie Abbot, was killed there by a bomb 20 years ago. Mr Kelly organised the funeral and led a march through the city in memorial to his friend.

Mr Kelly had been retired for some years but his daughter, Helen, is currently general secretary of the Association of University Staff and vice president of the CTU.

The New Zealand Government needs to urge the United Nations to take a strong stand against the military regime in Burma, Saw Min Lwin, a visiting Burmese trade unionist said today.

A group of refugees from Burma will tomorrow deliver a letter to the Prime Minister urging the Government to act to restore democracy in their home country.

Council of Trade Unions president Ross Wilson will join the delegation of 30 Burmese, who are coming down from Auckland to deliver the letter at Parliament.

The Burmese military regime has been holding a national convention for the past month to draw up a new constitution. This is going ahead without the participation of the National League for Democracy (NLD) which overwhelmingly won the country's election in 1990 but has been prevented by the military from taking office.

The NLD has refused to take part because its leader, Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, remains under house arrest and party members are in jail.

"The constitutional convention is a sham," Ross Wilson said. "Burmese people suffer continued oppression, trade unionists are jailed and killed and thousands work under forced labour.

"The delegation will be asking the Government to urge the UN for comprehensive economic and financial sanctions against the regime, for the UN to recognise the legitimately elected NLD, and for the regime to be expelled from the UN just as South Africa under apartheid was expelled."

The results of a new survey confirm growth in union membership but also identify the weaknesses in the Employment Relations Act's capacity to promote collective bargaining as it was intended to do, Council of Trade Unions president Ross Wilson said today.

The lobby group, the Employers and Manufacturers Association, needs to pull its head in and let any issues with the Holidays Act be properly worked through, Council of Trade Unions president Ross Wilson said today.

Unions back the Human Rights Commission's call for law that would require employers to end workplace discrimination on the basis of gender, race and disability, Council of Trade Unions president Ross Wilson said today.

Employers should put up the evidence of widespread sick pay abuse or admit that recent accusations are just part of another political campaign, Council of Trade Unions president Ross Wilson said today.

"Toll Holdings' clumsy industrial relations is jeopardising both inter-island ferry services and Auckland rail services," Council of Trade Unions president Ross Wilson said today.