Author: Mike Treen

Working people in Aotearoa New Zealand will be hit by a Tsunami of layoffs over the next few months like has never been seen before in this country.

I often get caught by surprise at the depth of racism in our society.

This means anyone who becomes unemployed in the next 12 weeks will refuse any part time work offered to them because they will lose the new payment. This is obviously supid so we hope will be changed in the future to allow some income on top of what they get as a tax-free payment.

The government’s new Covid Income Relief payment is a welcome step forward. The payments are for 12 weeks from June 8 when the current wage subsidy stops for most employees.

Unite Union wants to know why the most desperate sectors in New Zealand have been ignored in the budget, and wants a new package of support released soon

Despite the large numbers my feelings after reading it and the accompanying news reports is one of extreme disappointment at a missed opportunity.

McDonald’s in New Zealand has signed a new three-year collective agreement with Unite Union after union members voted 97% in favour.

We need a priority list of steps that the government can and should take immediately to help protect working people from the immediate devastation associated with what seems will be an inevitable deep recession. (I have stolen a few of these ideas from Greenpeace)

I propose that for at least the next six months we should give all unemployed, sickness, invalid and sole parent beneficiaries a tax-free benefit equal to the net national superannuation rate for a single person – $425 a week with a tax on all other income of 39%. I will explain where I got this idea and how it will work a bit later. 

How is this possible when the company is already 51% owned by the government?