The Unionist, Issue 48, 7 July 2006

The select committee considering Sue Bradford’s members Bill to scrap youth rates for 16 and 17 year olds has begun hearing evidence, writes this week's Unionist.

Either read on, or you can download the printed version of The Unionist here (PDF file, 95 kb)

Youth Rates Campaigners Present to Select Committee

The select committee considering Sue Bradford’s members Bill to scrap youth rates for 16 and 17 year olds has begun hearing evidence in person from submitters.

Last week the select committee was in Auckland, and heard evidence from Unite Union, CTU Youth Union Movement and Radical Youth, the group who organised a number of rallies in Auckland earlier this year.

Many of the young people present gave examples of their experiences of youth rates and poverty and detailed exactly what was involved in their jobs. A number of presenters spoke on the need to address the absence of any minimum wage protection for those aged 15 and under, saying that the minimum wage should cover all workers. Radical Youth started their presentation with a skit on the injustice of youth rates.

Unions have been campaigning this year to end youth rates both in support of the youth rates Bill before Parliament, but also at an industry level. Last month the National Distribution Union’s successful campaign to abolish youth rates at Postie Plus outlets in Hawkes Bay prompted the company to get rid of them at all stores in New Zealand. This followed the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union’s success in getting rid of youth rates at BP Oil, and Unite’s negotiations with Restaurant Brands to phase out youth rates at their fast food stores.

The select committee will head to Wellington next, and begin hearing evidence in the coming weeks. The committee (Transport and Industrial Relations) is juggling a number of Bills before it, including Wayne Mapp’s Employment Relations (Probationary Employment) Amendment Bill, and the Employment Relations Amendment Bill – which deals with protections for certain vulnerable workers when a business is sold, or work contracted out.

As MPs consider evidence on the Bill, the coming weeks are important ones for the campaign, and time to contact MPs to make sure they are supporting the move to end age discrimination for young workers. Check out the youth-rates-suck page on the CTU website for more actions you can take.

Meanwhile stage two of the SuperSizeMyPay.Com campaign continues – with regular Friday actions outside Point Chevalier McDonalds on Great North Road in Auckland. The first Wellington event for phase two of the campaign is this afternoon, from 4pm at McDonalds in Adelaide Rd (near the Basin Reserve).

Young Woman Sacked in Australia For Refusing To Sign Individual Contract

A twenty-one year old woman in Australia who trained for five years to work in the mining industry has been sacked under the country’s radical new industrial laws, for refusing to sign an individual contract that cut her sick leave entitlements.

Lorissa Stevens recently began work in the mining industry and was undergoing induction training when she was asked to sign an individual contract under the new laws.

Ms Stevens was pressured by the company and subsequently dismissed after she baulked at signing the contract because it contained a clause requiring 12 hours notice of being sick or the loss of a day’s wages and an extra $200 penalty.

“This is the human face of the Government’s IR laws: give up award conditions and sign the contract or lose the job,” Australian Council of Trade Unions Secretary Greg Combet said on Tuesday.

Events Calendar

Unions Local

Unions Tauranga
Mon July 10, 5pm
Seafarers Centre, Hull Rd,
Mt Maunganui
gparsloe@seafarers.org.nz

Unions Hawkes Bay
Mon July 10, 5.30pm
TUC, 2 Lipton Pl, Napier
dhyde@nduunion.org.nz

Unions Gisborne
Wed July 12, 4pm.
Trades & Labour Hall, Corner Customhouse St. & Childers Rd.
cryan@nduunion.org.nz

Unions Wellington
Mon July 17, 5pm.
CTU, Lv 7, Ed House, 178 Willis St.
pbolster@anet.co.nz

Unions Canterbury
Tue July 18, 4pm
TUC, 199 Armagh Street.
Karena.Brown@epmu.org.nz

Unions Otago
Tue July 18, 4.30pm
NZNO, Level 3, 7 Crawford St, Dunedin
glendaa@nzno.org.nz 

Unions Auckland
Tue July 18, 4pm.
Trades Hall, 147 Gt Nth Rd.
gparsloe@seafarers.org.nz

Unions Northland
Tue July 25, 5pm.
TUC, 7 First Ave, Whangarei
gparsloe@seafarers.org.nz

Unions Manawatu
Fri July 28, 3pm.
PSA House, 41-47 King St, Palmerston North

90 Days No-Rights-Bill Campaign Events

Unions Wellington leafleting
Tues 11th July, 12:30,
Midland Park, Lambton Quay.

Rally at Parliament,
Thursday Thur July 20, 12.30pm.
More details at www.workrights.org.nz, or phone 0800 1 Union.

Rally at Victoria Square, Cnr Colombo and Armagh Streets, Christchurch.
Sat July 22, 12:00 noon.
Karena.Brown@epmu.org.nz

Other Events and Campaigns

SuperSizeMyPay.Com -
Auckland
McFight Night – Every Friday Night. 5-6.30pm.
Pt Chev McDonalds, Gt Nth Rd, Auckland (09) 845-2132,
help@unite.org.nz

SuperSizeMyPay.Com -
Wellington
Picket – McDonalds Basin Reserve. 5-6.30pm,
McDonalds, Adelaide Rd. Ph: 385 2529, kathryn@unite.org.nz

Self-Determination In Action
Eye Witness Accounts from Venezuela, Philippines, Nepal.
Saturday July 8th, 9:00 - 5:00, Wellington Central Library, Victoria Street. Organised by WEA, with support from NDU, VUWSA and others.

SFWU Clean Start Int’l Campaign Day of Action
* Auckland: July 20, 12.30pm
Rally, meet outside Britomart Transport Centre
Phone Fala 375 2755, email
fala.haulangi@sfwu.org.nz
* Wellington: July 20, 12.30pm
Rally conciding with EPMU 90 Days rally, Parliament grounds.
Phone Mea’ole 566-8274, email
meaole.keil@sfwu.org.nz

Death (and love) in Gaza, homage to a young activist, based on the life and writings of Rachel Corrie and other Internationalists.
BATS Theatre, Wellington, July 25 to August 5, Tues to Sat, 7.00pm.
Bookings 802 4175

Join the 2006/2007 Australia & New Zealand-Cuba Friendship
Societies/Work Study Brigade to Cuba. This will be the 24th
Australia-New Zealand work study tour to Cuba! For further information contact Ina at
inashina.clear.net or Paul at
wkcultur@ihug.co.nz

CTU Meetings, Training

MUNZ Learning Reps Workshop
Thursday, 20th July, 9am - 1pm
MUNZ National Office, Level 1, Waterside House, 200 Willis St, Wellington
marym@nzctu.org.nz

ACC Partnership Programme Training For Union Representatives: Stage 1.
Thur 27 July, 9am-4pm.
Te Wananga O Aotearoa, Dinsdale Road, Rotorua.
thomasw@nzctu.org.nz

Unions at Work: Cross Union Delegate Seminar
Tue Aug 22, 9.00am – 4.30pm
Invercargill – venue to be advised. karenn@nzctu.org.nz before 1 August

Contact

If you have any information about upcoming CTU events please contact:
Sam Huggard - (04) 802 3817, email: samh@nzctu.org.nz