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Auckland Bus Drivers Lockout Dez 10 19 Interview: Alex Pirie Dez 05 17 Wellington Rail Strike Nov 19 17 A Worker's Story #1![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Here Aotearoa Workers Solidarity Movement (AWSM) offers the first of what we hope will become an ongoing series of interviews with workers from various sectors who are having their well being and livelihoods damaged. We begin with an educator in Southland, South Island. Due to the attitude and actions of his employers, he has asked to remain anonymous. AWSM: Thanks for agreeing to this interview would you like to tell us something about your work. WORKER: Hi, I’m an educator with adults, young and the not so young, looking to upskill their literacy AWSM: Do you enjoy your work? WORKER: Immensely. It’s making a useful contribution to society, and while I am aware really the main demands of my job are to make people fit for capitalism in terms of being upskilled to join the employment force, l like to embed a lot of critical thinking skills around for example, checking sources of news articles and what bias may come from them, interpreting the difference between facts and opinions, and seeing through advertising. In this way I like to think at least I’m giving people tools to deal with the capitalist media system, or at least attempting to. AWSM: Is there anything you don’t like? WORKER: Well yes, my terms and conditions leave a lot to be desired. For example, I was on a contract for a maximum of 20 hours, but if I had no students I had no pay. So in reality because of the vagaries of the people we teach, who often have chaotic lifestyles, my hours could vary anywhere between 10 and 20 in a given week, so obviously my pay reflected this. Also we have to take leave around the school holidays. So effectively, because you can’t earn enough annual leave to cover this amount you are without pay for around 8-10 weeks a year. AWSM: Is the pay good? WORKER: On paper it looks ok. I won’t go into the exact figures, but it is $30+ an hour and seems generous. The reality however is very different. I get paid what is known as an inclusive rate. This means I get deductions for my holiday pay, which I know isn’t that unusual, but also I have to pay the kiwisaver employer contributions out of my pay, which was a new thing for me and totally surprised me as I didn’t even know that was a thing. Also we don’t get paid for any time we spend preparing lessons or marking, and it is expected we are in the building at least half an hour before any class that we are teaching starts. Another thing that winds me up is once a month we are expected to attend staff meetings, without pay, that can drag on for over 2 hours, thanks to two managers who will talk and talk interminably about nothing much – of course they will be getting paid as they enjoy the luxury of 40 hour contracts. AWSM: In the previous question you said you were on a contract with a maximum of 20 hours, did this change? WORKER: Yes, at the end of Term 2 last year I was asked if I would like to take on a new course that involved 40 hours per week teaching. I accepted and they put me on a salaried contract which actually saw my pay drop by about $8 per hour. The course actually involved a lot more than 40 hours a week with gathering resources and marking, and of course, such is the lot of a salaried worker, you don’t get overtime – but of course if you ever leave early then it is seen as theft of time. I got reprimanded once for leaving an hour early for a doctors appointment – this having worked for the previous 4 saturdays above my 40 hours to catch up with my workload. AWSM: Things like that must drive you mad? WORKER: Honestly, I have been in the workforce for a long time now and I have no expectation of being treated differently. I really don’t think I have ever had a boss who I had any respect for and would treat you decently. AWSM: Are you still on that contract now? WORKER: No. As soon as my course finished they put me back on a 20 hour/Zero hour contract. Presumably so they don’t have to pay me fully for public holidays. When I return at the beginning of next term I will be offered the 40 hour contract again. AWSM: How do your colleagues view their working conditions? WORKER: No-one really talks about it. I try and get others involved in conversations but they really don’t want to rock the boat at all. AWSM: Have you ever suggested organising your workplace? WORKER: Ha, yes, and the response was mostly bemused looks. The place I work is one branch of a nationwide organisation and I tried reaching out to others around the country. The company has an intranet with a messaging service as part of it. I tried to start a topic on there to see how other tutors felt about the working conditions. It literally lasted less than half an hour and was taken down by management at the head office, followed by a phone call from the CEO to my line manager to tell her to have a word with me not to do this again. A few of us did start up a Facebook group to chat away from the eyes of management, and they were eager to try and organise, but they all found better jobs and left before we got very far. AWSM: Thanks for chatting to us, is there anything else you would like to add? WORKER: Not really, I think you can see what I have to put up with, but the saddest part is that it’s not unusual to have such poor conditions. A lot of the people I teach get seasonal work in the local pack houses. They are mostly on zero hour contracts, and can be called in or cancelled with very little notice. At busy periods they can work 14 hours a day for over 7 days at a time. I think that a whole generation has grown up since the economy was given a dose of neo-liberalism, and they can’t really remember a time anymore when proper contracts with decent conditions were considered the norm. The working conditions they have now are just seen as the way things are. Hopefully, one day things will change as people get pushed ever harder for less return. END |
HauptseiteEs Ley por la Lucha de Las de Abajo Covid19 Değil Akp19 Yasakları: 14 Maddede Akp19 Krizi [Perú] Crónica de una vacancia anunciada o disputa interburguesa en Perú Nigeria and the Hope of the #EndSARS Protests Aλληλεγγύη στους 51 αντιφασίστες της Θεσσαλονίκης Women under lockdown all around the world Solidarity with the Struggle of North American People! A libertarian socialist view of the capitalist and health crisis in the Americas Para las Clases Populares del Mundo, Pandemia, Crisis, Todos los Tiempos son de Lucha Nossa Concepção De Feminismo Na Perspectiva Do Anarquismo Organizado Frente a la Pandemia Capitalista, Solidaridad entre los Pueblos La force des femmes change le monde The competition between Iran and United States over Iraq Beyond Pension Reforms: Interview on the General Strike in France Comunicado de lanzamiento de la Coordinación Anarquista Latinoamericana (CALA) [Colombia] Vamos al Paro Nacional del 21 de noviembre [Catalunya] Una sentència que ataca les llibertats i els drets civils Aotearoa / Pacific Islands | Workplace struggles | en Di 19 Jan, 04:53 Bus drivers in Auckland, Aotearoa/New Zealand have been locked out by their bosses.
This article reports on the recent strike by rail workers in Wellington, Aotearoa/New Zealand. The 13th issue of Solidarity, free newssheet of the Aotearoa Workers Solidarity Movement. Visit the AWSM website to download a .pdf copy or read the articles online - http://awsm.org.nz/?p=467 One of the most popular products exported from New Zealand has been the atmospheric Lord of the Rings films. They invoke images of a far off land called Middle Earth complete with massive mountains, panoramic landscapes, and furry wee Hobbits fighting the evil Dark Lord. The next film based in the same fantasy world, The Hobbit, is to be shot in NZ next year. NZ Actors Equity, the union for actors in NZ, has called upon international actors unions to black the film production. The International Federation of Actors have agreed, and so unions like the Canadian Actors Equity, US Actors Equity, the Screen Actors Guild, UK Actors Equity, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA, Australia) and the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio have boycotted the film.
The National Government recently announced a series of new attacks on workers across New Zealand. The raft of proposed changes to the anti-worker Employment Relations Act (ERA, brought in by the previous Labour Government in 2000) and the Holidays Act will serve to further cut job security, wages and conditions for hundreds of thousands of workers in both the public and private sectors. The tenth issue of Solidarity, free newssheet of the Aotearoa Workers Solidarity Movement is now out.
On 17th February, 2010, members of the Aotearoa Workers Solidarity Movement attended a rally of striking cleaners at Parliament in Wellington organized by the Service and Food Workers Union (SFWU). The rally was part of the SFWU’s clean start campaign demanding and hourly wage increase from $12.55 to $14.62 for cleaners employed at Parliament and the police college in Porirua, in line with a recent pay increase for hospital cleaners and directly-employed school cleaners.
On Friday November 27th, thousands of workers took part in rallies and marches in 27 cities and towns across the country, demanding that the Government’s wage freeze for state sector employees was lifted. The protests focused on the struggles of hospital and school support staff, and employees at the Ministry of Justice, but many people from other sectors supported the demand and turned out to show their solidarity. Many of the attendees were on strike for the duration of the rallies.
The General Election in New Zealand/Aotearoa took place at the end of September and so its all over and done with. More accurately, the ritual of deciding who will politically rule over us has ended. The election of our bosses in the workplace never happened. The end result in both cases is the same. We are faced with a ruling class that feels emboldened to attack workers when it senses opportunities to do so. The latest piece of ammunition the government is preparing to lob our way comes in the form of a bland sounding piece of legislation, the Employment Relations Amendment Bill. This law was delayed prior to the election, due to the resignation of the now ex-MP criminal John Banks, but will be enacted within the next 100 days. What is the bill about?
The sixth issue of Solidarity, free newssheet of the Aotearoa Workers Solidarity Movement. Download the .pdf at http://www.awsm.org.nz/solidarity/issue6.pdf (1.44MB), or visit our website to read the contents online - http://awsm.org.nz/?p=243.
The New Zealand Government has announced that it will subsidise the Mc Donalds fast food chain for taking on young unemployed workers. In effect therefore the company is recieving corporate welfare, with the government acting as its Human Resources Dept. Below is a satirical response.
I am organising a campaign called SuperSizeMyPay.Com with other organisers at the Union I work for in Aotearoa/New Zealand to fight for a higher minimum wage, the abolision of youth rates and secure hours in the Fast Food industry and to get this legislated. Sorry, no press releases matched your search, maybe try again with different settings. |