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New Zealand Workers prepare for a Showdown with Nats

The Engineering Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU) which represents 50,000 workers in 10 industries has announced its intention to hold a mass stopwork meeting and then march on Parliament on July 20 – 90 days from today. [Press Release] The protest action has been planned to scare Wayne Mapp, the National Party industrial relations spokesperson, into scrapping the Employment Relations (Probationary Employment) Amendment Bill, which would allow employers to sack new workers within ninety days of starting a new job.

“It will affect everybody – from a 16-year-old starting his or her first job, to the 45-year-old with a mortgage and family to support. They could be sacked without even being given a reason, and won’t be able to do a thing about it” said Andrew Little from the EPMU.

It is particularly ironic that the EPMU have decided to give Mapp ninety days notice of nation wide stoppages as the same length of time will be given to new workers until they hae job security.

Links: CTU | Rank and File blog | Labourstart
"The bill would also scrap the rights of vulnerable workers who may be disadvantaged due to age, sickness, or disability to raise a complaint of unfair bargaining in forming an employment agreement," said Ross Wilson, president of the Council of Trade Unions.

"A 90 day probation period would particularly disadvantage the most vulnerable in our workforce in short term, casual and seasonal work who could go from job to job without any legal rights of unfair dismissal." [ Press Release ]

Wayne Mapp's bill in parliament, thanks to the support of National, Act, NZ First, United Future and three Maori Party MPs (Tariana Turia, Te Ururoa Flavell and Pita Sharples). Kirsty McCully from the Service and Food Workers Union wrote in her article on indymedia: "This is anti-worker, anti-union legislation and must be rejected. Maori Party MPs need to understand that giving workers the option to get fired does not constitute a 'positive employment option' for Maori workers or any workers. There is no excuse for their support of this Bill."

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Re: New Zealand Workers prepare for a Showdown with Nats

Good stuff Andrew! This is a great opportunity to demand that the Employment Relations Act's anti worker and anti union bans on solidarity strikes be scrapped as well!
 

Re: New Zealand Workers prepare for a Showdown with Nats

And this from Peter Dunny's media release, a Minister in Clark's Cabinet:

"Who on earth do the EPMU think they are that they should stoop to this sort of industrial blackmail?" asked Mr Dunne.

"This is not France where industrial legislation is decided by street rioting ? this is New Zealand where these matters are decided by people making submissions to a select committee and by the people's elected representatives in Parliament."

What an elitist toss pot!

And I agree with Don that the EPMU shouldn't be letting Labour off the hook. For example, what about the Air New Zealand engineers?
 

Re: New Zealand Workers prepare for a Showdown with Nats

Dunny is flushed with his own self-importance.
 

Re: New Zealand Workers prepare for a Showdown with Nats

we'll be there! awesome - thought it was an april fools joke! obviously they are feeling pressure from other unions to look MiLiTaNt. this will be a good opourtunity to get other people involved and radicalise it.
 

Re: New Zealand Workers prepare for a Showdown with Nats

Peter Dunne is not a minister in Clark's cabinet. He is minister of revenue outside cabinet. And in the quote mentioned, he was speaking as leader of the United Future party, not as a government spokesperson. He is not bound by collective responsibility in areas outside his portfolio.
 

Re: New Zealand Workers prepare for a Showdown with Nats

Dunne is a minister in Clarks right wing government, just like her other buddy Winston Peters. Labourites can play pretend about the unpleasant realities of the present regime, doesn't mean they're not still there.
 

Re: New Zealand Workers prepare for a Showdown with Nats

Lets not forget the so-called "pro-workers" and "pro-Maori" Maori party helping get this through.

Maori Party, yeah right.
 

Re: New Zealand Workers prepare for a Showdown with Nats

I agree with Don as well. This is definately a chance for all Unions to come together and join forces for a day of action against what is blatant anti-union laws. Show these politicians that workers are bearing the brunt of every decision made in favour of corporate greed.
 

Re: New Zealand Workers prepare for a Showdown with Nats

EPMU 'scare' Wayne Mapps? Meiow thatll be worth watching. At least they give him three months notice to toughen up and wear his underpants on the outside.

Why wait for EPMU head office to plow its way through another 8 weeks of media releases and paper threats?

Have a go at the Maori Party. Challenge the membership to tell Turia, Flavell and Sharples to go and join National and stop attacking the rights of workers.

The SFWU press release is a bit more stroppy but instead of identifying workers strengths to stand up collectively it plays on their fears as individuals meekly moving to the bosses tune.

"...If a worker thinks their boss can sack them within the first 90 days for no good reason and without the protection of termination rights under the ERA or any workplace Collective/Individual Agreement, that worker will be INCREDIBLY unlikely to EVER stand up for their rights or the rights of other workers..."

That's right, INCREDIBLY UNLIKELY because if Mapps Bill becomes Mapps Act, why would any worker ever stand up for themselves without the union official to tell them to? So says the officials catachism, all say after me: "we are the union, you are our clients".

Waiting for three months to scare Mapp is like waiting for the next Aussie election to get rid of Howards 'Work Choice' - its a hyber-nation.

We need to stand up to Mapp now and give the union officials the message that their campaigns are losers!

Why don't all the wildcats organise in their unions now for an anti-Mapp cat scrap?
 

Re: New Zealand Workers prepare for a Showdown with Nats

"We need to stand up to Mapp now and give the union officials the message that their campaigns are losers!

"Why don't all the wildcats organise in their unions now for an anti-Mapp cat scrap?"


So what did you end up doing in the end? Oh, that's right, absolutely nothing. Keep attacking those unionists who do all the work and actually mobilise real workers though.
 

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