Another variation on the demand to “tax the rich” is the call for a tax on financial transactions, otherwise known as a “Financial Transactions Tax” (FTT), “Tobin Tax” (after the Nobel economics laureate, James Tobin, who first proposed the idea in 1972), or “Robin Hood Tax” (i.e. taking from the rich and giving to the poor).
The Ports of Auckland announced on March 7th, 2012, that it was making the 300 striking workers at the Ports of Auckland redundant and contracting out their jobs to scabs (contract workers). In justifying this decision the Ports Chairman Richard Pearson claimed this would lead to increased productivity improvements resisted by the Maritime Union. Mr Pearson claims the port will be fully operating in about ten weeks’ time when the contractors from Drake and AWF (formerly Allied Work Force) Group are brought up to standard.
The present economic crisis has been described in various ways by mainstream commentators. All manner of “solutions” have been posed, both by the bourgeois politicians and economists, and by the reformist leaderships of the working class. What these commentators and representatives cannot admit is that this crisis will not be solved by this or that reform. Society is living through a crisis of capitalism and the choice facing mankind is simple: socialism or barbarism.
CEO 18.2% Pay Rise Council Workers 1.2% Pay Rise
On February 7th, 2012, about 300 protesters marched to the Kapiti Coast emergency management building after it was revealed last week that the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Kapiti Coast District Council Patrick Doherty was given a $44,000 increase in his salary. This generated a great deal of outrage in a local authority where approximately a third of its residents are NZ Superannuation recipients who earn around $20,235 a year [1].
The start to 2012 has not been a dull affair as far as the class struggle is concerned. The bosses are going on the offensive to drive down wages and conditions in order to boost their profits (the unpaid labour of the working class).
Affco, which is owned by the wealthy Talley family, have announced they have locked out union members at their Affco freezing works after they encountered resistance to new provisions to their collective contracts from the Meat Workers’ Union who object to the pay and working conditions being put forward by Affco management.
The Maritime Union Of New Zealand (MUNZ) is involved in a bitter dispute with Ports of Auckland (POAL) management. At the centre of the dispute is an attempt by the POAL management to bust the union and casualise the workforce, as part of a drive towards privatisation. If the POAL management succeed in busting the union it will have serious implications for all workers in New Zealand.
100 members of the Meat Workers Union are facing the Christmas holiday on the picket lines after being locked out at the Marton ANZCO Canterbury Meat Processors (CMP meatworks).
For the Labour Party the 2011 general election defeat was the worst since 1928. The main factor for this was the historic low turnout as many workers stayed at home and were not enthused enough by the right-wing leadership of the Labour party to go out and vote. The turn out was down from (what was considered then a low turnout) 79.46% at the 2008 general election to 73.83%. This was the lowest turnout since 1878!
