Fightback

The following article is an edited version of a report submitted to the Workers Party internal conference in January 2011 by its National Industrial officer Mike Kay.

General Outlook

The unemployment rate in the September 2010 year was virtually unchanged since the previous year, at 6.4%. Employment had increased by 1.8%, economic growth had been sluggish,and wage growth generally slow. (Although interestingly enough, the annual survey of CEAs by the Industrial Relations Centre at Victoria University found that for those agreements for which they could calculate an increase from June 2009 to June 2010, adult minimum wages in collectives went up by an “annualised” rate of 4.2 percent – the largest they have ever reported. This has been explained by pay rises kicking in for longer-term agreements negotiated prior to the recession.)

The Department of Labour’s Union Membership Report of March 2009 found a 3.9% increase in union membership on the previous year. Unions represented 17.9% of the total employed labour force, and 21.5% of wage/salary earners for that period. More women (59.9%) than men were union members. The most unionised sector was Health and Community Services, followed by Education; Government Administration and Defence; and Manufacturing.

There was a modest increase in work stoppages in the June 2010 year, compared to 2009’s historic low point. Twenty-nine work stoppages ended in the June 2010 year, with the estimated loss in wages and salaries $3.1 million. The number of employees involved (13,829) and the person-days of work lost (17,989) were both significantly up on the previous year. The greatest participation came from two sectors: Public administration and safety; and Health care and social assistance. The year was notable for strikes amongst white collar workers such as radiographers, secondary school teachers and staff in the Ministry of Justice.

Continue reading “Industrial Tasks and Perspectives December 2010 / Industrial Report”

Originally published in the March 2011 issue of The Spark.
At the end of January the Workers Party held its major internal meetings in Christchurch to guide the future strategy of the organisation.
Party structure changes
In terms of changing and developing party structures we did the following:
• Altered the leadership body and renamed it ‘Representative Committee’.
• Combined The Spark production team and the website committee.
• Combined the positions of national organiser and national secretary.
• Elected a discipline and disputes committee.
• Endorsed a new national recruitment officer position within the leadership body.
• Held membership criteria discussion. Membership categories to be fully decided by end of June 6, 2011.
• Held dues/finance discussion. National dues structure to be fully decided by end of June 6, 2011. Continue reading “Major decisions of internal conference”

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Hailing originally from Ireland where he was active in the Socialists Workers Party, Joe Carolan is a leading member of Socialist Aotearoa. Here he is interviewed by Ian Anderson (Wellington branch of Workers Party and The Spark editorial board).
The Spark: Could you start by recapping what shifts happened in this year’s Irish General Election?
Joe: Well, to start with there was the complete electoral destruction of the favoured ruling class party Fianna Fail. They lost over 60 seats, including seats they’ve held since they first formed as a constitutional political party. In part this represents the death of nationalist illusions in the party, which had to do with their historical participation in the Civil War. The illusion of Fianna Fail as an upholder of national sovereignty was broken by their sell-out to the IMF and to neoliberalism in general.
Then you had the destruction of the Irish Green Party. The Green Party was exposed in two respects. Firstly they demonstrated that Green Parties are not automatically on the left, similar to Germany where the Greens helped to attack the working class and push through neoliberalism. They also sold out principles of their own, for example their craven surrender to Shell Oil, or the use of Shannon Airport by the US Military. So those two ruling parties lost a lot of ground, and good riddance.
There were significant gains by Fine Gael, the other major ruling class party. The split between the major ruling class parties does not go down left/right lines, and has more to do with the Civil War. Fine Gael came from the tradition of IRA leader Michael Collins, who accepted a free state with partition, while Fianna Fail is associated more with republicanism, the idea of a united Irish state.
Fine Gael is socially liberal, so many liberals treat it as a natural ally. The Labour Party has pursued a strategy of coalitions with Fine Gael.
Sinn Fein, a group broadly associated with left republicanism, has also gained seats – even, to their own surprise, in areas they have never previously held. They’ve grown from 4 seats to 13. The growth of Sinn Fein, the growth of the Irish Labour Party, and electoral support for the new United Left Alliance show a strong desire for change among the Irish working class.
The parties have not yet formed a coalition. Continue reading “Interview with Joe Carolan: Left alternative gains in Ireland’s general elections”