
Issue No 39		12 November 1999

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News

Labour and Alliance Vow to Dump Contracts Act

By Noel Hester - ASU Services Branch

The two parties likely to form a coalition government in New Zealand in two weeks time - Labour and the Alliance - have vowed to repeal the notorious Employment Contracts Act.

The viciously anti-union ECA, written by and for employers, has made New Zealand an international pariah in industrial relations. It fails all the key conventions of the International Labour Organisation.

Even by the ruling National Party's own criteria the ECA has been a dismal failure - labour productivity is down not up, unemployment is up not down and wage disparity has increased not decreased.

Labour promises to replace the ECA with new workplace law that promotes collective bargaining, recognises unions and is consistent with ILO conventions. Under Labour, union membership will remain voluntary.

Industrial action in pursuit of a collective agreement will be lawful, including the right to strike for multi-employer agreements.

An extra week annual holiday, twelve weeks paid parental leave, an increase in the minimum wage and a pay equity law are the main features of the Alliance's workplace relations policy.

Kiwi Workers Urged to Vote

Meanwhile, New Zealand citizens working in Australia are being encouraged to vote in the election to help ensure a change of government.

CFMEU rank and file member Gary Preston is circulating information around worksites, with information on how to enrol.

The only requirement to vote is that you have to have been in New Zealand within the last three years.

To enrol contact the CFMEU on 0293949494 or visit http://www.elections.org.nz/

View entire issue - print all of the articles!

Issue 39 contents

Interview: Let Sleeping Dogs
Republican campaigner Jason Yat-Sen Li dusts off after Saturdayďż˝s vote. We ask him: where to now?

Republic: Readers Speak - Kerry the Face to Deface
We asked and you have spoken; Sydney heiress Kerry Jones is the Workers Online choice for desktop doodling, as the official winner of our Defacement of a Nation competition.

Economics: Understanding the Economy
Who was voted thinker of the millenium in a recent BBC Online poll? Karl Marx shooed it in. And another socialist, Albert Einsten, came second.

Unions: Come Fly Away!
With just four weeks to go, Labor Council's Organiser of the year Award is up for grabs. We've only had the one entry ...

Work/Time/Life: Better Times for Casuals in the Sunshine State
The Queensland Council of Unions has mounted a case in the Queensland IRC to increase wages for casual workers by up to $2.00 extra per hour.

International: All Black Fate Looms for New Zealand Right
The New Zealand economic experiment ďż˝ for many years the cherished role model of the Australian Liberal Party ďż˝ is just about to face an angry jury.

History: Who Remembers Egon Erwin Kisch?
Egon Erwin Kisch was a well known progressive journalist living in Germany when he was invited by the Australian branch of the world committee against war and fascism to speak at a conference in Melbourne in 1934.

Review: Bizarrism - Strange Lives, Cults, Celebrated Lunacy
The strange story of Donald Crowhurst or how to cheat and become a God.

Satire: Support Surges for Armenian Republic Model
The assassination by gun crazed extremists of the Armenian Prime Minister has been cautiously backed by Ted Mack and the Direct Electionist lobby as a possible new Republican model.

» First Social Audit Win For Rural Road Workers

» Y2K Bug Bites Rail Bookings

» Strikes Hit Schools - Before and After Class

» Olympic Uniforms Row Patched Up

» Charges to be Laid Over Gretley Disaster

» Jockeys Bucked On Compo

» Wag the Dog - Bosses Try the Back Door Strip

» Labour and Alliance Vow to Dump Contracts Act

» Bank Workers Win $3000 Payment for New Years Eve

» Union Organiser Thrown Off Bridge

» Justice at Last for Waterfront Asbestos Victims

» Timor Update: Positions Vacant; Upcoming Events.