New Zealand -industrial action

There is a whole rash of industrial action happening across the country at the moment.


It is obvious that a lot of this has been led by the Corporate state which is trying to squeeze workers' pay and conditions.  This has been demonstrated by legislation enacted by this government allowing employers to sack workers at will.  


This is class warfare being waged, not by 'militant unions' but by industry to take away what few rights workers have - this is called 'labour flexibility'


This is also joined by the economic squeeze - let's call it economic collapse - where there are less and less resources to be spread around - so there is an insane war on the part of the Rich and Powerful to take it all.

MPs, residents join aged care workers' strike 

Stuff,

1 March, 2012

Opposition MPs and rest home residents will today join picket lines across the country as 1500 aged care workers strike for a cost of living pay rise.

The workers from Oceania Group rest homes, which is owned by Australian equity company Macquarie Global Infrastructure Fund, join workers from the Port of Auckland and meatworks company Affco also taking industrial action this week.

The strike has been organised by the Service and Food Workers Union and the New Zealand Nurses Organisation after the Oceania Group refused to meet the workers' claim for a 3.5 per cent cost of living increase, offering 1 per cent a year for three years.

Oceania is New Zealand's largest rest home chain and owns 20 facilities throughout the country.

Striking caregivers in Upper Hutt will this morning be joined by Labour's MP for Rimutaka Chris Hipkins and its Mana MP Kris Faafoi, as well as Green list MPs Denise Roche and Catherine Delahunty.

MPs will also be on picket lines in Auckland.

Roche, who is the Greens' industrial relations spokeswoman, said nurses and rest home workers were among some of the poorest-paid workers in New Zealand.

Many Oceania caregivers earned $13.61 an hour, just over the $13.50 minimum wage.

"These workers do the job because they are passionate about caring for the residents and believe the work they do makes a difference."

Labour's industrial relations spokeswoman Darien Fenton says Macquarie Global Infrastructure Fund was more interested in returns to its shareholders than about decent care for the elderly.

There would be public sympathy for the workers today as many people had parents and grandparents in rest homes.

"What will touch a nerve with the public is that some of the residents are actually joining the workers this morning.

"So they are concerned the workers have only been offered 1 per cent and will have their overtime pay slashed."

The Oceania strike will be followed by action tomorrow by Affco 776 unionised meatworkers who were locked out of five plants after collective contract negotiations broke down.

About 300 Ports of Auckland wharfies are on a three-week strike and demanding a return to mediation to discuss concerns about the casualisation of their work.

Fenton said the current political climate was emboldening employers to take extreme action such as locking out staff.

"The Government could send an indication it wants better industrial relations and better work in New Zealand.

"Instead what they have done is send a signal that they are going to weaken workers' rights and collective bargaining."

There would be more strikes if the Government didn't change the message, Fenton said.

"These are unionised workers who are standing up for themselves, there are many thousands more that can't."

Labour Minister Kate Wilkinson said it was natural to have tensions between employees and businesses during tough economic times.

The Government expected disputed parties to enter into negotiations in good faith.

"That duty of good faith applies to both sides. No one likes to see strikes or lockouts."

Wilkinson urged the parties to make use of the Department of Labour's mediation services and if that failed, to go through the Employment Relations Authority.

Meatworkers Union to react to lockout with Affco plant strike

Stuff,

1 March, 2012

The New Zealand Meatworkers Union is expected to announce today a strike at Affco plants from Friday, which could pull about 1000 unionised workers not covered by the company's current lockout out of five North Island plants.

Yesterday about 770 union members at the five plants were locked out by Affco, which is continuing to run the plants with some unionised workers and staff on individual contracts.

A strike would mean union members still working today would be off the job from tomorrow.

However, in the industry questions are being asked how the union could on Tuesday issue Affco management with a strike notice from Friday – before it had consulted all workers on whether they wished to strike. Three major union member meetings were held yesterday to discuss a strike.

Senior union officials could not be contacted. Meanwhile, last night Affco operations manager Rowan Ogg stressed that the company was not considering extending the coverage of its lockout to a further three plants in the North Island. The five plants affected by the lockout are at Horotiu in Waikato, headquarters of the company, Moerewa in Northland, Feilding, Wairoa and Whanganui. The company has other businesses at Te Puke in Bay of Plenty, Wiri in Auckland and Hawke's Bay Hides in Napier.

The union's Horotiu branch president, Don Arnold, has worked at the plant for 35 years. He said there had never been a lockout at Horotiu in that time, and the last strike action by union members was in 1995.

Union members and the company had had a good working relationship – until the Talley family bought 100 per cent of the previously sharemarket-listed company, he said.

"They want to get rid of the collective agreement – they want to crush us." Arnold said this was a quiet time of the year for the plants with low volumes of livestock, and that farmers and support businesses should not be affected.

In mediation on Tuesday, the union had made "considerable concessions" to Affco, but the company had its mind made up to lock workers out, he said.

Affco is offering a 4.3 per cent pay rise over two years. But Arnold said in negotiations for a new collective and the various agreements under it, the company was demanding staff work harder for less money and pushing for "no bargaining". "It's a physical job. We're not talking about [resistance to] technology – we have changes like that all the time and it is sorted."

Arnold, who is not entitled to financial support from Winz because his wife works, thinks the conflict will be lengthy

Container ships in Ports of Auckland during strike expected

Thursday, 1 March 2012, 12:09 pm

Press Release: Maritime Union of New Zealand

Scoop,

1 March 2012

The Maritime Union says a couple of container ships working during a strike at Ports of Auckland is not unexpected.

Maritime Union of New Zealand National President Garry Parsloe says the container ship Maersk Aberdeen discharged a small number of containers yesterday with a skeleton workforce of managers and non-union workers.

He says another vessel was working today but the reality was the port is functioning at a 10% level as most vessels are turning away.

Mr Parsloe says the port was limping along, and he was surprised that Ports of Auckland CEO Tony Gibson was promoting a barely functioning port as a success.

"If this is a successful port operation to him, I wouldn't like to see an unsuccessful one."

Mr Parsloe says the port could be back operating at full capacity at short notice, as soon as a threat to make the entire stevedoring workforce redundant and contract out their jobs is lifted.

He says the port could be back to business in a day if the CEO decided that a successful port was more important than destroying secure jobs.

Mr Parsloe says that the employer is using standard divide and rule tactics but has failed to dent the resolve of the over 300 workers on strike who were aware of the issues.

"Our members who make up the great majority of the workforce are of course concerned that a small group have failed to recognize the dangers of what the port company are proposing."

The Union had seen a surge in contributions from the public, and the members on the picket line were very firm, and very committed.

Opposition Parties say employers emboldened to be more militant