Continuous rain didn't stop unionists protesting in Parliament grounds today. They came by the busload, mostly EPMU workers but also a few SFWU, AUS, PPTA, Dairy worker, NDU and others.
There were also quite a few school kids, interested members of the public and a colourful street theatre effort by anarchists acting as National supporters.
Proceedings began with a adapted Holly Near song from, I think Choir Choir Pants on fire, which rejected Wayne Mapps 90 day bill and, along the way, called for straight/gay workers unity.
Then CTU president Ross Wilson was introduced.
He condemned mapps bill as "Dishonest and cynical", explaining that it would not help the new workers it claimed to help. Ross also suggested Mapps bill was a step back to the Employment Contracts Act, where there were fixed term contracts. Maybe he's unaware that thoudsands of us are on such contracts right now.
Ross concluded with his trademark call for everyone to build a high value, high skill high wage economy, "not like China". We should build an economy where workers were treated as people and not "comodities"
EPMU secretary Andrew Little then referred to Labour, Green, Maori and National Mps present at the rally. The first three got a cheer, the last got a boo.
Then NDU Laila Harre,pointed out a 15 year old supermarket worker brought Porrirua who was standing up for workers rights. This got a big cheer, as did her call for the abolition of Youth rates - the one indication from the platform that we are not eactly in a workers paradise right now.
PSA leader Richard Wagstaff said Mapp's Bill would be a "problem for the ecomnomy" and would "tip the ballance in favour of the bosses"
An aussie unionist then went on at length in a rousing style, heavy on nationalism. He said the likes of Wayne Mapp should be "ashamed to present themselves as real New Zealand people" whatever the fuck that means.
A Pacific Island woman unionist then read a long rousing speech against the bill concluding with a call for God to bless us all. ( Presumably not Mapp)
After that, Mapp was offered the chance to speak, but was booed down; many protesters turning their backs on him. ( A dubious thing to do to any politician or similar enemy I would have thought)
Then Mapp departed to chants of "BULLSHIT BULLSHIT", which made quite a good conclusion to the rally.
The upside for me was the undoubted feeling of solidarity enegendered by hundreds of unionists standing up for their interests. Another big pluss was no Labour government speaker, pleasant surprise.
The down side was the crude persoanalisation of the official EPMU placards; NO WAYNE and MAPP OFF.
Shades of the "Mad Max" mantra they summoned up in the holidays act struggle.
There was also blatant political claptrap from the platform about the "fairness" of the present laws. The Workers Party distributed a leaflet BAD LAWS MADE WORSE, pointing out that Labour's present laws ban most strikes and make illegal strikes punishable by fines or imprisonment.
(Its a fair bet that most of the workers at the rally were there legally, with time off conceded by the boss, or in agreed paid stopwork meeting time.)
Union leaders have always kept the anti worker parts of Labour laws tightly under wraps.
They never complain that we have the toughest anti strike laws in the western world.
Our Workers Party leaflet reminded people that when he first became CTU President Ross Wilson stated "Getting the legal right to strike around social and political issues is impossible" That includes the right to strike over unfair dismissals, banned under Labour's mlaws.Yet Ross Wilson gets up and presents the current laws as "fair"

In the industrial law game its not only Wayne Mapp who is dishonest and cynical.