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Source: Council Of Trade Unions (CTU) – Press Release/Statement:
Headline: What confidence can we have in “business confidence”?
‘Business confidence’ is falling and we should be very concerned, we are told. But is ‘business confidence’ really falling and is it anything more than an opinion poll of some chief executives as to what they think of the Government of the day, or their impression (which may not be any more accurate than yours or mine) of where the economy is going?
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Source: Council Of Trade Unions (CTU) – Press Release/Statement:
Headline: Budget health analysis shows reverse in downwards trend, but much more needed
Council of Trade Unions Economist Dr Bill Rosenberg and the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists Director of Policy Lyndon Keene today jointly released detailed analysis of the 2018/2019 health budget which shows $2.5 billion would need to be put in to the next Government budget to both meet that year’s needs and restore funding to 2009/2010 levels.
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Source: Council Of Trade Unions (CTU) – Press Release/Statement:
Headline: The Budget: bleeding stopped, patient’s condition still serious
In memoriam: This is the 200th CTU Economic Bulletin. It was founded by my predecessor, Peter Conway, CTU economist and then CTU Secretary, who wrote the first 101 issues. He died just three years ago, on 9 June 2015. We still miss his wisdom, values, activism, music and friendship.
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Source: Council Of Trade Unions (CTU) – Press Release/Statement:
Headline: Holidays Act changes to be worked through between unions, business and Government
The Council of Trade Unions President Richard Wagstaff said today that he was looking forward to working with business and Government on a review of the Holidays Act to ensure working people are fully and properly paid what they legally earn.
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Source: Council Of Trade Unions (CTU) – Press Release/Statement:
Headline: Payroll needs to recognise that parenting is skilled work too
The Council of Trade Unions said that new research released this morning by public policy researchers at Motu shows parenthood is undervalued by employers as skilled but unpaid work, with mothers being impacted by a lifelong ‘parenthood penalty’. Secretary Sam Huggard said the research illustrates how undervaluing what is perceived as unpaid ‘women’s work’ has an interaction with paid work, and strongly contributes to the gender pay gap.
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Source: Council Of Trade Unions (CTU) – Press Release/Statement:
Headline: Government facing over two and a half billion health funding gap
New figures released today by Council of Trade Unions Economist Dr Bill Rosenberg and the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists Director of Policy Lyndon Keene show the health funding gap since 2009/2010 has grown to $2.7 billion. This amount would be needed in Thursday’s Budget to fund services to the same level they were supported in 2010, and pay for new initiatives.
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Source: Council Of Trade Unions (CTU) – Press Release/Statement:
Headline: Petroleum industry needs to get on board with a just transition
The Council of Trade Unions said today that it was heartened by yesterday’s announcement from the Government of a just transition for those in the oil and gas industries, but disappointed that the petroleum industry appears unwilling to face facts. CTU Secretary Sam Huggard said that putting the interests of working people first in the inevitable move to a sustainable economy was more important than playing politics with their future.
“The whole point of a just transition is that actually, we know change is coming, it’s inevitable, and we are going to create high-paying sustainable jobs that match people’s skills. You’d almost think from the reaction from the oil and gas industry that the rug was being pulled out from under working people overnight. The Government and the union movement have been very clear that a transition plan, particularly for affected regions is the right way to go.”
“Rather than scaremongering about job losses, we’re ready to look to the future for regions like Taranaki and get on with investing in new technology, new industries, and new jobs for those who have been reliant on oil and gas. The fossil fuel lobby knows full well that it’s a sunset industry, and they should be more honest about what they can provide for regional economies. We would welcome them showing a bit of care for the people that work for them by talking to us about what they can do to support a just transition too.”
CTU blog from Sam Huggard on what a just transition would look like:
www.together.org.nz/the_urgency_of_a_just_transition_for_climate
To read the CTU policy paper on a just transition:
www.union.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/JustTransition.pdf
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Source: Council Of Trade Unions (CTU) – Press Release/Statement:
Headline: No surprise that Kiwis value our teachers and support a better deal for them
The Council of Trade Unions said today that new research published by NZEI Te Riu Roa and the PPTA that 83 percent of Kiwis think teachers need a pay rise is in line with feedback from union membership on the value of our public services and the people working in them. CTU President Richard Wagstaff said that consistent feedback over the last decade shows New Zealanders know reinvestment in our schools, hospitals and other social capital is due to keep us healthy and happy.
“New Zealanders value a society where everyone has a fair go, starting with a good education led by skilled and appropriately resourced teachers,” he said. The monetary value we place on the people who protect our social capital through their work in education, for example, has fallen over time relative to the pay of chief executives and the cost of living. It’s playing out in difficulty attracting and retaining people to the public service, like the short staffing in classrooms around the country.”
“I think we all instinctively know that in order to create a healthy and functioning society, the kind we can be proud of, we need to treat our social institutions like public education with respect. Given the strong feeling of New Zealanders about directing better support towards teachers and children, the political mandate to repair years of education underfunding is assured.”
Link to the research:
www.nzei.org.nz/UploadedFiles/Media/NZEI_Teachers_Report_FINAL.pdf
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Source: Council Of Trade Unions (CTU) – Press Release/Statement:
Headline: Kiwis should be able to choose to make work better together
The Council of Trade Unions today presented to the Education and Workforce Select Committee on the Employment Relations Amendment Bill, in support of giving New Zealanders back the ability to improve workplaces together. CTU President Richard Wagstaff said that the proposed legal reforms repaired and protected the freedom of working Kiwis to choose to join in unions if they wished.
“As a country we have a strong history of having each other’s back and pitching in to improve everyone’s lot. This bill means you can stand up for and support your colleagues more easily, and can make your own choices about how you want to support others at work.”
“Being able to make a fully informed choice on whether you decide to join in union with other working people, to negotiate your pay and working conditions in a collective agreement, or get help from your union if you get stuck are basic rights we need to repair,” he said.
“Most employers and working people have no problems entering into constructive relationships and respecting common decency like providing a break for a cuppa. But unfortunately, the erosion of rights at work over the last nine years has allowed a few bad employers to pressure working people with the threat of 90 day trials and punitive repercussions for working together for a better deal.”
“What we’re hearing is that the erosion of minimums has allowed cowboy operators who treat working people badly to undercut other local businesses who uphold more dignified standards. We’re saying that there should be a bottom line for everyone doing business in New Zealand -treating the people you employ with respect. We’ll stand up to anyone who says this isn’t a tradition worth cementing in law.”
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Source: Council Of Trade Unions (CTU) – Press Release/Statement:
Headline: Trade and investment policy can and should be more inclusive
The Council of Trade Unions says that a debate on our approach to trade and investment policy is welcome and overdue.
“We want to work with Government on a new deal for trade that works better for communities and working people – not just commercial interests,” says CTU Secretary Sam Huggard.
“Working people support greater interactions with other countries, and trade. We just want international commerce agreements to serve our interests, not make our interests subservient to international commerce.
“Early agreements such as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade dealt only with international goods trade and were much more limited in their impact on domestic laws and regulations.
“But that’s not what we’re dealing with now. The focus has extended considerably over the years and encroaches deeply into domestic policy making – and it is the impact on government procurement, economic development, investment, health, environmental protections and other areas that need to be addressed in any review.”
Huggard says that the CTU set out its views on this early last year, and is keen to support the development of a framework for international agreements that is pro-democracy and preserves room for governments to make meaningful decisions in the national interest.
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