Unions and Labour outraged over new bill
Unions and Labour reacted with cries of outrage yesterday about a new bill that has the capacity to severely dent the effectiveness of strike action and which threatens to increase conflict on picket lines.
Since 2000, the law has prevented employers hiring temporary staff during strike action and the new bill would allow it.
The Employment Relations (Continuity of Labour) Amendment Bill in the name of National’s Botany MP, Jami-Lee Ross, was draw from the private members’ bill ballot and was introduced to Parliament yesterday.
It is almost certain to make it to select committee with the support of National for a first reading vote and the likely support initially of Act leader John Banks and United Future leader Peter Dunne.
We can’t Feed the Kids from a private members bill, but we do have time to crush the unions? Center-Right? Try Stormtrooper, romper-stomper Hard Right.
Simon Lusk/Cameron Slater client MP, Jami-Lee Ross has had his legalizing scabs private members Bill drawn and it spells real danger for the NZ Union movement.
The law change would allow bosses to employ scabs, removing the last fang from the Union’s mouth. It’s a clear declaration of war against the Unions and National Party strategists will be rubbing their hands with glee over the opportunity to provoke industrial disputes across the spectrum and then point to the resulting actions as proof that the Unions have run amok and legalizing scabs is the answer.
Expect Slater to go into over drive with foaming hatred and expect the mainstream media (as they did during the manufactured crisis at the Hobbit) to bash hell out of the Unions.
National need a new section of the community to project divisive hate at now beneficiaries have been beaten to a bloody pulp and the Unions provide them with the perfect bogeyman to blame National’s lack of economic stewardship on.
Expect National’s proxies in employment to immediately start provoking fights with the Unions and expect the Ports of Auckland to try and crucify MUNZ.
This presents the left with some interesting options. If Labour are as lackluster in their support for Unions because Fox News Democrats like Josie Pagani want them to step away from their traditional allies for suburban brand marketing purposes, then it allows the Greens & MANA to woo Union support away from Labour coffers.
If Labour strategists wake up and block Pagani from their twitter feed and see this as a means to re-engage with Unions and their concern for working people then Labour will bounce back into the fight.
National have come to a fist fight with a shotgun and murderous intent. This is not a centre-right Government, it’s a far right Government.
“This is not a centre-right Government, it’s a far right Government” – that’s for sure!
“This is not a centre-right Government, it’s a far right Government.” Ok, I’m assuming that that’s in reaction to Key calling the Lab-Green energy policy far left. Because there are some quite socially liberal people in the current government, otherwise we wouldn’t have got marriage equality. However, neoliberalism is starting to mirror communism in the way that it takes every opportunity to reconstitute itself as an increasingly anti-democratic force. Semantics, aside, We have an ex-currency speculator who worked for one of the prime culprits of the 2007 world economic meltown as PM, and a government that is a social and environmental disaster. Oh, and Banks is an odious bigot.
“hate at now beneficiaries”
typo: how
Of greater concern is the error in the NZ Herald article:
The Employment Relations (Continuity of Labour) Amendment Bill in the name of National’s Botany MP, Jami-Lee Ross, was draw from the private members’ bill ballot and was introduced to Parliament yesterday.
Error: drawn
Notice how frequent these errors are? They can easily be found every day and they’re considering people pay to read this online?
The Government may discard the Unions and workers’ rights – do they really think there’ll be increased productivity from slave labour? You can put a slave to work but the quality of their work will be poor. That’s some great vision for economic growth they’ve going – all stick, no carrot – who’s going to stick around for that.
Dear All –
Before you all freak out and go up the wall on this, have a look at this childish nonsense that this is actually all about! This is NOT serious stuff, this is one of Nationals most up himself, arrogant and at the same time stupid MPs trying to gain some attention. You may have thought that Gilmore was bad, but this one comes from the same school of thought, encouraged by one idiot Simon Leask!
He can barely put a few sentences together, that overrated “Botany Man”, I suppose a late species of a degenerate version of post colonial Neanderthal Man, who surprisingly resurfaced at the antipodes, where nobody expected some offspring of such to have ever lived.
That guy is a total nutter, and he thinks this piece of a bill will get somewhere. Key and Nats do not even support it, but it is being used to “test” the grounds, so to say, as they have been with other bills and “reforms”. Of course it is disgusting and despicable to even “entertain” such proposals. But I would not read too much into it. It is pure mischief!
http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/PB/Legislation/Bills/1/3/6/00DBHOH_BILL12251_1-Employment-Relations-Continuity-of-Labour-Amendment.htm
http://www.parliament.nz/NR/rdonlyres/24B67B74-8F41-408A-B02D-70F6546BFD10/256704/EmploymentRelationsContinuityofLabourAmendmentBill.pdf
So 4 pages of nothing, really, but an attempt to repeal one section, not even offering any alternative to the existing provisions. That shows it all. It is only intended to stir up and create “debate”, nothing more. This is the right wing of the Nats testing the grounds!
Hence do not fall for it, expose it, challenge them and shoot the damned nutter down, before he ever gets reelected for that weird electorate, where more non European Kiwis live than such as Jami Lee Ross.
What is of more serious concern is the Employment Relations Amendment Bill 2013, presently before Select Committee and open for submissions. Have a read of that, thanks, as that is going to be undermining workers’ rights and collective agreements, plus more:
http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/PB/Legislation/Bills/BillsDigests/5/d/c/50PLLaw20451-Employment-Relations-Amendment-Bill-2013-Bills-Digest.htm
Read it, dissect it, analyse it, listen to Helen Kelly and others, and take a stand by making submissions, thanks.
Marc
Forever now known in this household as Jamie-Lee Scab.
The bills mentioned are set up to help employers, but only big impersonal employers. I am looking at employing some staff in my small business I would need them to be engaged and passionate, sharing the same sort of vision for the business that I have. Cowed slaves are no good to me. So these kind of bills designed to crush worlers would not help me either. If the government really wanted to help both small businesses and workers, then they could provide us with more incentives to actually employ people.
What sort of incentives do you need to employ more people?
Governments don’t usually implement major policies via private members bills. If this was truly part of the National party agenda they would push it through as they usually do and it would be shepherded by the Minister responsible.
Nonsense.
Of course they can, and do.
Labour took the Green Party’s so-called “anti smacking” Bill, and made it a government Bill.
It actually got bipartisan support but regardless it was a traditional private members bill. It dealt with a subject that was outside the usual area of major Government policy. Employment relations law doesn’t really and certainly not in this area. If you disagree with my views listen to Matthew Hooten’s take on this on Radio NZ National this morning.
Comments are closed.