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.