Labour work and wages policy good for working people

Labour’s new pol­i­cy on work and wages, announced today, is good for the work­ing peo­ple of New Zealand.

Mar­itime Union of New Zealand Nation­al Sec­re­tary Joe Fleet­wood says work­ing peo­ple need a voice in their work­places.

“The recog­ni­tion of the role of Unions as this voice is a foun­da­tion of the Labour pol­i­cy.”

The rights of work­ing peo­ple would ben­e­fit from the abo­li­tion of the 90 days fire at will law, he says.

A com­mit­ment to strength­en­ing of pro­ce­dures for col­lec­tive bar­gain­ing and mul­ti employ­er bar­gain­ing would also ensure fair­ness and improve­ments in wages and con­di­tions.

The restora­tion of rights of access for unions to the work­place, and increas­es to the min­i­mum wage and the intro­duc­tion of the Liv­ing Wage to core pub­lic ser­vices would help many strug­gling work­ers.

Mr Fleet­wood says the com­bined effect of casu­al­iza­tion, unem­ploy­ment and low wages is harm­ing New Zealand.

He says the Mar­itime Union sup­ports the goals of the Labour Par­ty for an inclu­sive soci­ety where all New Zealan­ders move for­ward togeth­er.

The Mar­itime Union is an affil­i­ate of the Labour Par­ty.