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).
A
number of defensive struggles have broken out across the country from
the Ports of Auckland dispute to the Affco meatworkers who are locked
out. This isn’t a surprise as the capitalists here want to smash two
of the most militant unions in the country and use it as an example
to workers to accept large cuts in wages and conditions and fully
undermine workers’ collectivism. We urge all readers to actively
support the workers’ struggles breaking out.
The
hypocrisy of the National led government is exposed when John Key
says it has nothing to do with them. It was John Key’s government
that passed the recent anti-worker legislation, giving the green
light to the bosses to go on the offensive!
It
wasn’t that long ago the government passed the Hobbit Law, under
urgency, turning film workers into contractors overnight to appease
Warner Bros. It would be naïve to the extreme to expect the bosses
political party not to be closely working with the bosses to create
an employer friendly legislative environment to casualise the
workforce as part of the government’s austerity agenda. To further
this agenda, new anti-worker legislation will be before Parliament
this winter. The aim of such legislation is to strengthen the bosses
hand against organised labour.
The
government monetrist policies of cutting state expenditure and
attacking workers’ pay and conditions means that the market will be
cut further as workers will have less money to buy the goods they
produce. The net result will be growing unemployment queues at WINZ.
Unfortunately
the labour leaders are looking at keynesianist policies of increasing
state expenditure which will lead to inflation as it will not be
backed up by increases in production. The end result here will be
growing unemployment when the bill for such state expenditure is
eventually presented.
However,
Socialist Appeal is in favour of major public works to meet workers
needs like hospitals and schools. What we are not in favour of is
the capitalist system. In other words Socialist Appeal is neither
in favour of monetarist or keynesianist policies but socialist
policies!
A
generalised workers movement is beginning to emerge as workers have
no alternative but to fight to maintain their living standards. The
capitalists can no longer offer a decent standard of living for
working people. The only alternative is for the labour movement to
fight for the socialist transformation of society. Socialism is the
only answer.