NZ Unions can win Fair Pay Agreements but can’t win middle class white collar unemployment holiday tax

Right now two of the most important workers rights laws are being crafted and debated without a hell of a lot of oversight or wider debate.

One of the reasons why Australia has a far higher per hour wage is because the 35 years neoliberal de-unionisation agenda has left the NZ work force at the mercy of the greedy.

The Fair Pay Agreements, drafted by Helen Kelly (a selling point the CTU are not incorporating here!), allows for the 90% of the workforce not in a Union to collectively bargain and force the pay and conditions overall to lift.

This would be the most transformative work relations policy implemented ever in NZ, it’s de facto universal unionism and would give true bargaining muscle to workers.

It’s an appalling shame that when there is so much to win here, vested interests are more focused on championing the dead beat idea that is their Unemployment Insurance!

New Zealand income insurance scheme proposal: Government seeks feedback

Designed by the government, Business New Zealand, and the Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU), the scheme would cover people who are made redundant, laid off, or when a health condition or disability significantly affects their work hours.

It would be managed by ACC, and would be paid for by levies on wages and salaries, with workers and employers paying an estimated 1.39 percent each.

Robertson announced the details of the proposal, which the government is seeking feedback on, this morning. He said there were important lessons to be learned from the impacts of Covid-19, and the value of the Wage Subsidy and Resurgence Support Payment schemes.

The outrageous Unemployment Insurance being touted isn’t just the creation of a two tiered welfare system for the middle classes to enjoy, it’s a horse trading deal between the CTU and PSA to get support for the Fair Pay Agreement.

The PSA is the largest and most powerful public sector Union, the Fair Pay Agreement is a de facto universal unionism that would water down PSA influence.

Enter the Unemployment Insurance. It enables Wellington’s Bureaucratic class to just tag in a 7 month State paid sojourn on top of their holidays when you want to take the next deck chair shuffling redundancy package.

It’s PSA members and white collar workers who benefit from this outrages public policy package!

The worst bit, is that the fucking thing doesn’t even work!

‘Little, if any evidence’ income insurance schemes improve job-market outcomes

Academic studies do not appear to support the claim that income insurance schemes help the newly unemployed land better jobs, a labour economist says.

Dean Hyslop, a senior fellow at Wellington research institute Motu, said research also suggested people who had access to such schemes took longer to rejoin the workforce after being made unemployed.

Finance Minister Grant Robertson set out detailed plans for an ACC-style Income Insurance Scheme on Wednesday that would pay workers who lost their jobs due to lay-offs or health conditions 80 per cent of their pay for six months, on top of a minimum four-week period paid for by employers.

The insurance scheme’s expected $3.5 billion annual cost would be funded by a 2.77 per cent pay levy, split between workers and employers.

…$3.5billion to ensure the Wellington Bureaucratic Class get to tag a 6month taxpayer holiday onto their long list of gold plated perks just to get a Universal Unionism across the line?

Isn’t that an outrageous scam?

Unemployment Insurance doesn’t help workers on the ground floor, this is for the elites!

This is obscene middle class welfare for the Wellington Bureaucratic Class, it’s a political sop to the PSA to get the Fair Pay Agreement passed.

It’s the exact same middle class interests that pushed for that $750million Bike Bridge.

As more and more attention comes on this jaw dropping level of self interest that creates a two tiered welfare system, the poor who are getting screwed over will get angrier and angrier.

The bad faith Grant Robertson is pushing is extraordinary. He argues that most people can’t access welfare when they become unemployed.

That’s true, and it’s true because WINZ are spiteful pieces of shit who make the unemployed crawl over broken glass with enormous stand downs and a pittance at the end. To avoid the poor widdle Wellington Bureaucratic Class having to go through the trauma of visiting a WINZ Office, we are going to give them a 6month taxpayer holiday they can easily manipulate for their benefit?

If only Labour cared about the actual poor the way they care about the Wellington Bureaucratic Class.

I’m not the only Lefty with deep reservations about this rort!

The purpose and principles of the social security act – Professor Susan St John, CPAG

Why I oppose social insurance – Mike Treen, Unite Union  

Look, there are two planks that hold up the entire economy of NZ.

The first is stealing land from Māori and NEVER paying the full cost of that they back and the second plank to the NZ economy is the de-unionised work force that keeps wages lower than Australia and allows big money to operate a labour force dependent on cheap immigration.

The big money in NZ has realised that the FPAs represent the greatest tool to force them to pay more for workers, and there is no way in hell they are going to allow that ti happen.

So huge money is now being donated to National with one focus, and one focus only – stop the Fair Pay Agreements.

To date, this is how the Union Movement think they will win over voters…

…hmmm. Y-e-a-h. Might need to work on that. Maybe less colour?

Big Money in NZ has accepted Labour in power because while in power, Labour have done sweet fuck all to challenge their business interests, with FPAs though, Labour threatens their total dominance over a de-unionised work force.

They will never allow that to happen.

That’s why Luxon was so swift to attack Jim Bolger for supporting FPAs.

The fight for Fair Pay Agreements is probably one of the most important in NZs class history.

The Right understand that, the Left unfortunately are a buggers muddle of identity politic virtue signals masquerading as class consciousness.

The surface issues the 2023 election will be fought over will hide the real battle that Big Money are funding, and that’s about killing off any last chance to reverse the mistakes of the neoliberal revolution and unionise the NZ workforce.

 

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