by Gareth Hughes
This is my latest article for Auckland University’s Craccum magazine:
On the spectre of bourgeois opposition to the advancement of the glorious workers advancement struggle.
I probably showed my age in a previous article talking about an old TV show Voltron, but this week I’d like to touch on some other pursuits of the 90s: listening to Nirvana, watching The X Files, and in New Zealand’s case, attacking workers.
The last time we had a National Government in the 1990s it was a sucky time to work. No wonder so many Kiwis listened to depressing grunge music and zoned-out to paranoid conspiracy-theory TV shows. I was in high school then and worked in lowly paid jobs in a supermarket, a fish and chip shop, and I delivered pamphlets with minimal rights. Back then Finance Minister Ruth Richardson carried on the neo-liberal economic orgy of the 80s Labour Government that caused so much pain to New Zealand communities.
Now in a different century with a different National Party we’re seeing the same thing: tax cuts for the rich, beneficiary-bashing, and attacks on workers rights in what Russel Norman, described as “setting employment relations in New Zealand back two decades”.
The current National Government have introduced a raft of unfair changes to industrial relations that will see people pressured to cash up their holidays, fired at will without explanation, and bosses requiring medical certificates for employees who are sick for only one day. Its great news for bad bosses and undermines all of our hard-won employment rights.
Why? Is it because of ideology, to appease big business party donors or simply because they despise workers? I believe it’s because of a misguided belief that by taking away workers’ rights, removing protections, cutting pay, reducing holidays and diminishing access to sick leave is the best way to grow the economy. Just like how they are currently making it harder and more expensive to be a student, it’s just not a smart way to run the economy. I can’t believe they are trying to close the ever widening pay-gap with Australia by paying less to workers!
Last Saturday, the other Green MPs and I joined thousands of Kiwis around the country at the Fairness at Work rallies because we believe everyone deserves a fair go.
When I pushed trolleys at the Gisborne Woolworths I was paid a stink wage. Back then, it was all of $5 an hour. Like today’s minimum wage, it was hard to get by on. In 2008, the Green Party got rid of discriminatory youth rates that saw smaller rates for young workers. Now all workers in New Zealand receive at least $12.75 an hour. In 2010, that won’t even buy half an antique Nirvana CD – this is too low. Earlier this year the hard-hearted Government raised it by only a measly twenty five cents. This doesn’t even keep pace with inflation. We and others called for an increase to $15 minimum wage, which was a start towards a fair wage for everyone.
Another unhealthy approach to employment rights has been the Government’s changes to sick leave. Now an employer can demand a doctors certificate if you are away sick for even one day. It seems a sick joke. What if you have the flu? It’s not really worth the stress, inconvenience and cost of going to the doctor but it’s not a good thing to go into work and spread your germs either. I’m not sure if you’ve been to the doctor recently but often they are totally booked up and not open to appointments on the day. It’s a silly new rule that will benefit bad employers and scare some employees into never taking sick leave, regardless of how sick they actually are.
We hear a lot about the need to boost our productivity to boost our economic growth but we do this not by working more and more for less but by working smarter. It’s important to take a good enough amount of holiday leave so you are fresh, energised and productive at work. Four weeks paid leave a year is fair. This Government has changed the rules to allow employees to give up one week in return for cash. It may seem neutral on the outside but what we’re going to see is bosses pressuring workers to give up a week and it will drive down pay increases economy-wide because employers will say “well, if you need extra cash, don’t go on holiday”.
Probably the biggest and worst change is around the 90 day ‘fire at will’ law. Basically this allows anyone who is employed under the 90 day provision, which will be I imagine the majority of students, to be fired with no explanation and warning. The motivation is to encourage employers to ‘take a punt’ on a risky worker but it’s not fair or conducive to good relationships between employer and employee. If you suffer from this law I’d love to hear your story, like this one shared on Frogblog: “Florence Cohen was sacked from her first job on her 85th day of her 90 day trial period. Her employer had expressed no dissatisfaction with her performance, she was given no reason for her dismissal, and she still doesn’t know today what, if anything, she did wrong.” Many students could end up being treated like Florence if they take on a new job, which is unfair and will drive down wages.
When you look at the bundle of changes, just like in the 90s, another National Government is using the recession and high unemployment rate to attack workers rights, slam the university door on new students and increase the cost of living. Prices for food, transport and electricity are all going up and buckle yourself in, because come October, GST is going up to 15%.
That nice Mr Key didn’t mention all this stuff at that last election. Rather than focus on a fair deal for everyone he seems to be making big changes ‘by and for employers.’ We’re not going to become a prosperous nation by treating our workers unfairly, paying them less and making it a struggle to provide the basics. In taking us back to the 90s this government is as freaky as an X Files episode and as depressing as a Nirvana song.
Published in Environment & Resource Management by Gareth Hughes on Tue, August 31st, 2010
Tags: industrial relations, tertiary education
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on the trolls and those who are unable to keep on topic
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Language that Tom Skinner and Bill Anderson would have used.
Or Marx mimself. Very 1950′s speak
Does “glorious workers advancement” still strike a cord in todays culture?
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The strategies this Govt. are adopting goes back to the 19th century ! A master & servant mentality & “God Save The King/Queen”.. It seems obvious that they think the workers come second.. not as a vital part of maintaining the strenghth in the economy. Haile Selassie I, addressed the UN in 1963 & spoke about discrimintion.. “Until the philosophy which holds on ‘race’ (class) superior & another inferior, is finally & permanently discredited & abandoned.. ” Bob Marley took these words & wrote a song called “WAR”.. think about it ! Kia-ora
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which radio station did you listen to…?
phil(whoar.co.nz)
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BUSINESS ROUND TABLE; PUBLIC ENEMY NO 1 ——–
Good post Gareth, keep up the left speak it is empowering language that should make it’s rightfull return into the lexicon of our language, and better still let it be the zeitgiest (spirit of the age)of tomorrow!!!!!
You say we have a different National government; that I disagree, it is the same old reactionary party wearing a more fashionable suite.
The prime minister is a little more shrewd than Shipley he talks in euphormisms that have proved to nothing more than suger coated bullets.
They are still backed up by public enemy no1 The business Round Table who lobby very hard for zero minimum wage!!!! That’s the code for establishing a slave state!!!!
As for conspiricy theories? Well read the protocols of The Wise Elders of Zion and compare it with the news today. Oh yes it’s scary all right.
It certainly makes one stop and think. ‘We shall create so many laws for the goyim he shall become confused and bewildered’ and to the effect that everyone will be a law breaker subject to manipulation by blackmail.
Did you know that Zew Zealand has over four thousand tax laws!!!!!
The only thing that the global elite havn’t got control of is the internet. So lets keep it in the commons away from the grubby hands of Ropert Murdock!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I’m going to be quite honest and say I would have chosen to cash in my holidays at the first chance I got back when I had my last job, it means money up front and yes less time with Whanau but many of NZ’s working population are fairly loaner…and would probably be happier with an extra 5-800 or so + the 5-800 at work for that week. I wouldn’t be surprised if employers pressured their employees to take up the option, they might also incentivise with offers of a slighter higher wage or a bonus to compensate but many employers make employees lives hell if they attempt to take their statutory holidays at a time which does not work for them, even if by law they are required to oblige, around the Summer if they are in the retail industry or they are in a seasonal profession this will happen in honestly with a fair point behind it. Frankly I really want to see a focus on making Easter Sunday a public holiday, I and several others worked on that day a while back, despite mates not working, the busses not running and the crap hours and still only got the same wage p/h – that is something that really needs to be addressed. on the 90 day trial, perhaps the period is too long but when there are next to no jobs around most people would offer to chuck that into their contract anyway “just give a chance aye a couple of months to prove I’m good at this” etc though an amendment should be made so people cannot advertise a job soley with the intention of applying the 90 period- that’s something for the interview process to debate.
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You’re deceiving yourself again Gareth Hughes. You have a piss poor following amongst the workers. I was briefly a member and when I mentioned it the workers had a good laugh “ho, ho, ho… y’laid yourself open to that one mate”. It is a fact they don’t like your letter box drops in Hornby (Christchurch).
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Fuck, that was a good decade!
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I had a worker who ahd built up a lot of holidays and didn’t want to use them. She prefered the money so I did what my employee wanted, and in doing so would have been fined $10,000 if I had been ever been found out.
Your blind ideology harms the very people who you think you represent.
In your world workers are forced to take holdidays they don’t want when they’d rather have the money.
A friend who is a cop recently built up leave to the point his employers asked him to use some up. He couldn’t use it in school or statutory holidays, as that’s when he’s most needed.
So he had to take holidays in the middle of winter when his family were at school and work. The weather wasn’t even suitable for DIY around the house so he ended up sitting at home and watching sky tv for a week.
It’s head-in-the-sand stupid ideaology that harms workers by forcing them to take leave when they’d rather take the money. If it’s mutually agreeable, they should have the choice.
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zedd says “Haile Selassie I, addressed the UN in 1963 & spoke about discrimintion.. “Until the philosophy which holds on ‘race’ (class) superior & another inferior, is finally & permanently discredited & abandoned.. ” ”
Sounds good, except the quote doesn’t quite work for “class” instead of “race” when it comes from Ras Tafari – as he was the Emperor.
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Gerrit, Gareth’s tongue firmly in cheek?
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Valis,
For a minute there I thought Gareth had transformed into a North Korean!
Back to the future!
Anyway the problem with the four week holiday always has been getting staff to take them.
In a perfect world ALL staff would be away for four weeks holiday, but visit any business and ask what value of unused holiday pay provisions sit on the company books and you will find that it is not unusual to have people with 20+ days holidays owing.
Plays merry hell with a SME balance sheet as the provision has to maintained till the leave is taken.
I would expect that some SME’s will enforce compulsory holidays on staff to keep the holiday provision on their books to a minimum.
The no doubt we will have the wowsers complaining that they are “forced” to take their holidays at a most inconvenient time (like the policman in a previous comment.
Oh boy, who would want to be an employer!!!!
Some people claim that the business round table is public enenmy number one.
Others claim the union movement is public enemy number one.
In balance it must be about right.
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I’m studying a university course on the sociology of health inequalities. Living in a world that doesn’t make sense is bad for people, because it changes the way they process stress. It makes them not know whether the battle has ended, so they can relax. Licensing for people to be fired without a reason is a way of killing them slowly. It’s a bad idea.
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Let us remember that in the 1990s, we had just come out of a period where former pen pushers and tea makers in the railways, the post office and goodness knows where else had been made redundant. That was a massive pool of unemployed workers, and bosses had a choice – that would naturally result in a depression in wages as well as conditions.
Today, on the other hand, we have a situation where unemployment is still relatively low (if you think 7% is bad, then consider the situation in Europe and the United States where double digit unemployment is now the norm), and we also have a situation where shortages of workers in certain fields has become the norm. As the economy starts recovering again, then it is almost certain that there will be pressure from workers to retain their pay and conditions.
Of course we cannot forget the perfect storm either; as Baby Boomers retire, employers are going to be fighting to get their positions filled – and that can only result in pay and conditions being improved.
And we aren’t going to become a prosperous nation while we choke the small businessman either. Unfortunately, I don’t see the present government doing the things that would help the small businessman prosper.
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I think Jon-ston has a point, but then again I don’t think that NAT/ACT and BRT ever represented small business only large corporations and they are about business monopoly, they don’t want to see a new kid on the block.
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