Minister Van Velden shows contempt because she knows the Unions are too weak to fight back

Van Velden skipped consultation before scrapping 30-day rule

The Minister for Workplace Relations did not consult with impacted parties before progressing controversial draft legislation to repeal a law that automatically signs new employees up to a collective agreement.

Earlier this month the coalition Government announced it was repealing changes made by the previous government, by removing the so-called 30-day rule and reducing employers’ obligations to communicate and report back on union membership for new workers. Union bosses say the change will deter people from joining altogether.

A status report on the changes, put together by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and presented to van Velden in February, mentions the lack of consultation under the ‘risks’ section.

Van Velden knows she can fuck around with the Unions and disrespect them in this manner because she knows the Unions are too gutless and weak to fight back!

Look.

The NZ Union movement is very much like the Woke Wellington activists, they are excellent at supporting Free the Nipple protests for militant vegan mummy bloggers, not so good at challenging the neoliberal hegemonic economic structure!

The NZ Unions are in short, pathetic and Van Velden knows they are pathetic, and she can slap them in the face and disrespect them because she knows they are so weak, they won’t fight back.

If Van Veleden misgendered a Union official, oh, then the Unions would set fire to her Ministerial car, but as long as she doesn’t mispronounce some Te Reo or suggest NZ female comedians aren’t that funny, the Unions will not fight her.

NZCTU have given us their vision for Workers in NZ…

The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi has launched a new policy platform, Aotearoa Reimagined, which has been developed by engaging workers, community leaders and policy experts over the past year.

“Today we are announcing a transformative policy vision that reimagines our society and economy to ensure that Aotearoa New Zealand works for the many, not just the few. We challenge political parties to make a strong commitment to working people by adopting these policies in the lead up to the next general election,” said NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff.

“Our country is heading in the wrong direction. We have a broken economy, rising inequality and poverty, soaring unemployment, and stagnating wages. The rich keep getting richer at the expense of ordinary people. We need to do things differently. It’s time for bold change.

“We’ve spent the last year listening to workers who have told us that they are angry at a system that doesn’t meet their needs or aspirations. They fear their children are facing a future of increasing hardship.

“Everyone deserves security, dignity, and to have enough to thrive. Changing the country’s trajectory is possible—we just need to make different choices. We have listened to working people and created a plan to build a society that works for everyone. 

“Our plan would ensure everyone can have good, well-paid jobs underpinned by strong workers’ rights.

“It will deliver world-leading public health and education, a cradle-to-grave care and support system, modern infrastructure, warm dry, affordable homes, clean and publicly owned energy, and low-cost transport.

“The plan would ensure that Aotearoa meets its climate obligations and guarantees a just transition for the workers and communities who will bear the brunt of the climate crisis and technological change.

“We are also calling on politicians to reject the politics of division and honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi by implementing it in law and in our constitutional frameworks.

“We can fund the transformative change we desperately need by rebalancing the tax system, taxing capital gains and ensuring that the wealthy pay their fair share.

“The union movement is challenging political parties to make this vision a reality and create an Aotearoa that works for the many, not just the few. It’s time for a new approach,” said Wagstaff.

…the details are all very broad and general and it feels like something Jacinda would have done in that it’s a perpetual ‘first good step’ that doesn’t really go anywhere.

CTUs vision is like vegan muesli vs a bacon sandwich in that it’s good for you but lacks the sales pitch.

When you consider this hard right, anti-Treaty, anti-Māori, anti-worker, anti-environment, anti-renter, anti-beneficiary Government is strangling off the common good for corporate donors interests, you would have thought the CTUs vision would recognise that, but we are left with a first good step rather than the sprint required.

I think Craig Renney’s new podcast will do more than this vision statement.

We have to re-establish the egalitarian mission by promoting policy that directly challenges the capitalist status quo in meaningful ways.

Without vision, the Union movement is lost.

There are 4 magical pillars of the NZ economic ‘success’

1 – Stealing Indigenous land and never paying back the full value.

2 – Selling basic milk powder to China

3 – Selling each other houses and pretending that makes us rich.

4 – Addiction to a low wage economy.

The migration exploitation rules are garbage because NZ loves exploiting migrant labour!

We are addicted to it.

We say locals are too lazy for these jobs when really what we say is locals won’t allow themselves to be exploited as easily as migrant workers.

There is of course a solution here.

Universals Union membership for every migrant worker crossing the border.

That way domestic workers know they are not competing against exploited labour.

That way migrant labour can’t be exploited without the Union stepping.

That way the migrant worker and domestic worker are all protected by the solidarity of the Union.

We don’t want a solution to exploited labour, that’s why Universal Union Membership for migrant workers is ignored and non-solutions like this are promoted.

We need economic resilience, we need community resilience, we need radical reform to strengthen sustainability.

We need more Left Universalism.

We need to lift the tax yoke off working people, beneficiaries and the middle classes and we need to put it on the Banks, the Corporations, the Billionaires and the mega wealthy.

We need more Democratic Infrastructure, not less!

Why do we need these things?

Because the climate is shutting down and we face a bleak future where Billions will suffer and die thanks to catastrophic climate change.

This change will be forced upon us whether we like it or not.

This demands more connections, more bonds that bind us together to emotionally, socially,  economically and politically survive what is coming.

Māori communalism is going to teach us a lot.

Here are some thoughts on what the CTU hui should be considering:

The Right to Strike: A 10 day nation wide national strike would achieve more for working people than a dozen elections. We don’t have the right to strike in this country for God’s sakes, stand on your feet or live on your knees!

Iwi backed new Supermarket: Bring in a 3rd player into the supermarket duopoly that is Iwi backed with a focus on cheap prices for consumers, best prices for producers and high wages and work conditions for workers. Take 30% of the Supermarket Industry by force (allowed under the Commerce Commission powers) and use this as the backbone for a new food security system.

Mārae Civil Defence: Use Marae as the backbone of Civil Defence throughout NZ with resources based there alongside new building grants to strengthen those Marae.

Ministry of Green Works: We need to be able to build our own sustainable infrastructure, we need social housing builds and we need vast upgrading of the existing infrastructure to be adaptable to climate change.

New Mental Health First Responders: A whole new branch of first responders to deal specifically with mental health issues to talk people down and seek help rather than calling then Police and arresting people.

Artist Benefit: As part of a degrowth Capitalism model, pay Artists to make public art, use that art as a means to deal with the wondrous grief caused by the destruction of the planet.

Māori Parliament: An indigenous Parliament that amplifies Māori political voices.

Universal Student Union: Allow Student Unions to be the incubators for tomorrows politicians and stop students simply being cash cows for corporate education.

Universal Migrant Union: Stop migrant worker exploitation with universal student membership.

Retirement Village Unions: These scumbag retirement villages abuse their elderly and sick clients, universal Retirement Village Unions would stop them being exploited.

Pensioner Unions: Give our elderly a voice!

Sugar Tax to fund free dental.

Financial Transaction Tax to target speculators

Free Public Transport to lower emissions and make an impact on the wallets of the poor.

Wealth Tax aimed at the super wealthy

Inheritance Tax only realised after death

First $20 000 tax free for everyone

Lower GST to 10% to take the tax burden off the poor

Nationalise Early Childhood Education to lower the cost for working mothers and fathers

Without vision the Union Movement is dead, and Minister Van Velden shows contempt because she knows the Unions are too weak to fight back.

 

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