AMID THE cost of living crisis, working people, beneficiaries and the poor are in need of a political movement that will oppose the policies of a National-led coalition government that seeks to enrich the few at the expense of the many.
Perhaps the most visible result of the government's austerity policies are the job losses sweeping through the public sector, as the government pursues its 7.5 percent spending cuts. Over 3,000 jobs have already disappeared within the public service, and more are to come.
But the recession will see more jobs disappear beyond the public sector. Business journalist Liam Dann has suggested that 30,000 jobs are likely to have gone by the end of the year. He's being optimistic.
While market zealots like New Zealand First's Shane Jones like to insist that the government has a mandate to pursue its present policies, it actually doesn't. National received just 38 percent of the popular vote and had to cobble a coalition government together with ACT and NZ First. Neither party captured the public imagination, with ACT only securing 8.6 percent of the vote and NZ First just 6.1 percent. Since the election, support for the government has largely stagnated.
The recent survey by the research company Ipsos has revealed that nearly two thirds of the country think 'New Zealand’s economy is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful'. Eighty percent of Maori, predominantly working class, think the system is rigged to benefit the few. It's worth noting that there was next to no expression of that dissatisfaction from either the large Maori caucus in the last Labour Government or from the Maori MPs in the Green Party.
But widespread discontent with the political establishment rarely ever comes to the surface and disappears just as quickly, lacking an organised political voice. That voice certainly doesn't presently exist within Parliament, with Green Party co-leader Chloe Swarbrick perhaps the honourable exception.
That voice certainly cannot be heard from trade union officialdom, either. This would be the opportune time for the trade union hierarchy to rediscover its long-lost militancy. It could encourage and be part of a political movement, a constellation of forces, that will resist the county's present economic and political direction, which two thirds of the country opposes. It could help formulate a real alternative that isn't dictated by the interests of 'the market'.
The signs so far though are not encouraging that trade union officials are prepared to rock the boat. In the face of the mounting job losses, for example, union officials have done little but wring their hands in anguish and issue a few angry press statements. Their next task will be to politely escort sacked workers to the door marked 'exit', no doubt consoling them that things will improve once Labour is elected again in 2026.
Many people might be thinking that strike action is in order, but the best the Council of Trade Unions (CTU) can come up with are some so-called 'stop work meetings' scheduled for May 1, International Workers' Day. May Day, which has its origins in the socialist movement, is, among other things, a celebration and defence of worker militancy. But there's nothing militant about the CTU's 'stop work' meetings, and nothing to be enthused about either. They are also being promoted both by First Union and the Unite Union, once again demonstrating that their barks are worse than their bites.
The meetings, to be held only in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, are planned to begin at midday, which means workers can attend during their lunch hour and their employers will remain entirely unaffected. Militant, this ain't. Half-arsed, it is. This is simply about appearing to defend workers' interests, when actually doing nothing.
The poster advertising the meetings says that 'decades of progress can't be undone in months'. Rather than provide a list of demands, the CTU wants us to believe that the last four decades of neoliberal rule have been a time of unparalleled progress for workers! When a complete rejection of neoliberalism is required, the CTU isn't calling for its overthrow, merely its better management. This is little more than continued support for the 'business as usual' centrism of the Labour Party and the policies that got us into this mess in the first place. At a time of crisis and workers under siege, we deserve a helluva lot better than this.
While market zealots like New Zealand First's Shane Jones like to insist that the government has a mandate to pursue its present policies, it actually doesn't. National received just 38 percent of the popular vote and had to cobble a coalition government together with ACT and NZ First. Neither party captured the public imagination, with ACT only securing 8.6 percent of the vote and NZ First just 6.1 percent. Since the election, support for the government has largely stagnated.
The recent survey by the research company Ipsos has revealed that nearly two thirds of the country think 'New Zealand’s economy is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful'. Eighty percent of Maori, predominantly working class, think the system is rigged to benefit the few. It's worth noting that there was next to no expression of that dissatisfaction from either the large Maori caucus in the last Labour Government or from the Maori MPs in the Green Party.
But widespread discontent with the political establishment rarely ever comes to the surface and disappears just as quickly, lacking an organised political voice. That voice certainly doesn't presently exist within Parliament, with Green Party co-leader Chloe Swarbrick perhaps the honourable exception.
That voice certainly cannot be heard from trade union officialdom, either. This would be the opportune time for the trade union hierarchy to rediscover its long-lost militancy. It could encourage and be part of a political movement, a constellation of forces, that will resist the county's present economic and political direction, which two thirds of the country opposes. It could help formulate a real alternative that isn't dictated by the interests of 'the market'.
The signs so far though are not encouraging that trade union officials are prepared to rock the boat. In the face of the mounting job losses, for example, union officials have done little but wring their hands in anguish and issue a few angry press statements. Their next task will be to politely escort sacked workers to the door marked 'exit', no doubt consoling them that things will improve once Labour is elected again in 2026.
Many people might be thinking that strike action is in order, but the best the Council of Trade Unions (CTU) can come up with are some so-called 'stop work meetings' scheduled for May 1, International Workers' Day. May Day, which has its origins in the socialist movement, is, among other things, a celebration and defence of worker militancy. But there's nothing militant about the CTU's 'stop work' meetings, and nothing to be enthused about either. They are also being promoted both by First Union and the Unite Union, once again demonstrating that their barks are worse than their bites.
The meetings, to be held only in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, are planned to begin at midday, which means workers can attend during their lunch hour and their employers will remain entirely unaffected. Militant, this ain't. Half-arsed, it is. This is simply about appearing to defend workers' interests, when actually doing nothing.
The poster advertising the meetings says that 'decades of progress can't be undone in months'. Rather than provide a list of demands, the CTU wants us to believe that the last four decades of neoliberal rule have been a time of unparalleled progress for workers! When a complete rejection of neoliberalism is required, the CTU isn't calling for its overthrow, merely its better management. This is little more than continued support for the 'business as usual' centrism of the Labour Party and the policies that got us into this mess in the first place. At a time of crisis and workers under siege, we deserve a helluva lot better than this.
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