Don’t let Winston fool you – the War on Workers he’s enabling continues
Pike River families rally against overhaul of workplace safety laws
Family members of those killed in the Pike River Mine explosion have rallied outside Parliament urging politicians to vote down a bill they warn will risk a workplace disaster.
Workplace Relations Minister Brooke van Velden is proposing a radical shake up of New Zealand’s health and safety laws under an amendment bill.
Pike River family members Anna Osborne and Sonya Rockhouse joined the Council of Trade Unions at a rally on Wednesday in a last-ditch effort to head off the changes.
RNZ
This hard right Government have for the last 2 and a half years waged an unrelenting war on workers rights. Brooke Van Veldon as Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety was an ideological stormtrooper who loved blood as much as your average Great White Shark.
Her Employment Relations law overhaul empowered bosses.
Her Removal of the “30-day rule” for new workers to be on existing Collective agreements undermined unions.
Trashing contractors to keep them weak against bosses undermined those workers.
Her WorkSafe downgrade to make workplaces less safe with enforcement changes that amounted to coddling bosses rather than prosecuting them makes a mockery of the Pike River Mine tragedy!
And her pay parity kneecapping was literally robbing the poorest workers to pay the richest.
On average 70 workers die on the job every year and another 900 die annually because of the work they do – this is 2026, not 1826, surely in the here and now, no whanau should ever be told that their family member isn’t coming home because they’ve died on the job – how does cuddling bosses instead of prosecuting them going to make that work environment safer?
Minister Brooke Van Velden, citing only anecdotal evidence from bosses she talked to, defended the Worksafe change from prosecution to advising because the bosses she had spoken to said that Worksafe scared them. How do the fears of bosses over implementing worksafe guidelines trump the actual safety of workers going home unharmed each day?
And don’t believe that Winston suddenly cares about workers…
Peters Will Betray Workers Again – He Can’t Be Trusted – PSA
Winston Peters has betrayed workers before, and he is about to do it again by voting to make workplaces less safe warns the PSA.
Parliament is about debate critical changes to workplace safety laws with the Second Reading of the Health and Safety at Work Amendment Bill.
“Every time Winston Peters has had a chance to stand up for workers in this government, he has folded. He voted for every single attack on workers’ rights the Government has delivered. Now he is about to vote for a law that puts workers in small businesses at greater risk of injury and death,” said Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi.
“New Zealand workers have seen this movie before. This last-minute hand wringing expressing concern about the Bill is all show. This will be yet another betrayal by a man who claims NZ First is the true workers’ party.
“If he truly believes the Bill is flawed, he needs to walk the talk and vote no.
“How can he look workers in the eye and support ACT and vote for a law that strips away their health and safety protections? This bill deliberately weakens the rules that keep workers in small businesses safe – the very workers NZ First claims to champion.
“Winston Peters has been an active participant in this Government which has inflicted the worst attacks on workers’ rights in a generation. He voted to axe pay equity for 150,000 women. He voted to reinstate 90-day trials. He voted to scrap Fair Pay Agreements, agreed to suppress minimum wages and voted to gut personal grievance protections to allow people to be fired at will.
“New Zealand workers can’t afford yet another Winston Peters betrayal. He should vote the bill down, but don’t hold your breath.”
PSA
…don’t let Winston fool you – the War on Workers he’s enabling continues!
Anyone who supports Winston on the basis of him ‘fixing’ things ‘after the election’ is a complete fool.
Most of his support comes from people who are no longer in the workforce, so what do they know? They should not be allowed to force the real workers to deal with his tricks. It’s a case of say anything to gain power for Winston.
Agree with Grant, that van Veldan and Winston should have been forced to work down mines or in forestry etc. before having any power to fiddle with workplace safety. Again, both grossly under-qualified which is the main qualification for high office in this CoC.
Slightly off topic but I hope these people remember when they are opposition, that we suffered though their incompetence and thievery, their cruelty and ignorance and they weren’t forced to resign (because they have no shame and wouldn’t go).
If they pick on a left govt. for minor misdemeanors, we will remind them of their duplicity and dishonesty. They’d better leave parliament if they lose because they have no credibility and we will call them liars.
We might take on Judith’s mantra and aim to get them back twice over.
Van Velden should’ve been forced to work down a mine or on a forestry block or on a building site for 12 months before being allowed anywhere near the halls of power….the same for people like Thatcher who thought it was okay to deal to the miners …both ignorant, clueless, dangerous people….note that they never put themselves in harms way…that is always for someone else.
Van Velden was only ever there because National and ACT corrupted the MMP system….otherwise it would’ve been Brooke who???…and N.Z. would be a safer place..
Instead she has sucked over half a million dollars out of the N.Z taxpayer.. for what exactly?
Winston and Shane and their track record over the last two years shows what their real motivation by the legislation they have voted for.
This egregious bill like so many other’s presented and passed in the last two years the direction they are travelling in and its got nothing to do with the safety and welfare of our workforce something that betrays Winston and Shane’s campaign slogan ” putting New Zealanders First “.
” Winston did a lot of this when he was in coalition with Labour, agreeing to something, then threatening to veto it at a late stage unless changes were made. While its entertaining to see National getting the same treatment, its a sign that he simply cannot be trusted, and there is no good faith in any coalition relationship he is a party to ”
” He’s since changed his tune, saying he can’t vote against it and instead promising to fix it after the election. That seems unlikely to satisfy his supporters, who are demanding action. But voting against it won’t satisfy his donors, who have given him half a million dollars to keep propping up ACT, so he’s kindof fucked either way. Which is exactly what he deserves for being such a duplicitious shit ”
https://norightturn.blogspot.com/2026/06/national-gets-winstoned.html