Headline: Scab bill would hurt hard working families and children
Proposed changes to labour laws would punish hard working families and result in children going hungry.
“Parliament entertaining the idea of allowing casual contractors and unpaid staff to work when employees are on strike would undermine the rights of workers to collective action” said Marama Davidson, Green Party candidate for Ikaroa-Rāwhiti.
“AFFCO workers in Wairoa and around the country won some small concessions after spending months last year during a shut out, the bill would completely undermine any leverage the workers had in that situation. The Scab Bill would create huge hardship in already stressful situations, we could see workers fighting with casual labour brought in to keep profits up while a lock out is forced on staff.”
“We saw how the Wairoa and Gisborne communities rallied around locked out AFFCO workers last year giving food and financial donations to help the affected families. This bill will pit worker against worker and their kids and whānau will be the real victims.”
“Unions will not accept this attack on workers and I expect they will use the few provisions that remain for collective action now to push back. This will not be good for workers, and it will not be good for business” said Ms Davidson, who has a background in human rights education and worker advocacy.
“No one wants to stop work, but sometimes it has to happen when bosses refuse to be reasonable. We saw the huge community support for the AFFCO workers and the way they were able to eventually get some concessions by sacrificing their income for weeks on end. Casual labour brought into that situation would have been disastrous for everyone concerned.”
“The right to strike is one of the few remaining protections workers have to try and keep some kind of balance between employees and employers – it has been hard fought for over generations and there is no way it will be let go lightly.”
National MP Jami-Lee Ross had his Employment Relations (Continuity of Labour) Amendment Bill drawn from the private members ballot yesterday.
ENDS
Contact Marama Davidson:
Email: marama [dot] davidson [at] greens [dot] org [dot] nz
Website: www.greens.org.nz/Ikaroa-Rawhiti
Twitter: @MaramaDavidson
Facebook: www.facebook.com/VoteMaramaDavidson
Authorised by Metiria Turei, Level 2, 17 Garrett St, Wellington.
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