Mr Brown is not alone in facing a major issue in relationt to the Ports dispute. He is, of course. A Labour-supported mayor presiding over one of the most blatant pieces of union bashing in recent years is not a good look. He must act and clearly or lose all credibility in his vote. It is a first and crucial test for his leadership. He fails in this, and he is a one term mayor, for his loyal vote will be hurt by dissembling.
However, Mr Shearer and Labour have also to step up and come out swinging on this issue. It's no longer a simple question of management of an enterprise. The is Capital rampant, with National in full support looking for multiple advantage - port privatisation, destruction of a union, cowing of the wider labour force, exertion of a wider statement of power and intent. The Ports dispute has become, potentially, the defining first moment for Labour under Mr Shearer, and we look for clear leadership on what is now a matter of principle.
IDLE THOUGHTS OF AN IDLE FELLOW: The Ruminations of Robert Winter
for gods sake idle one, wharf people big crazy inflated salary,well above their worth, companies move to other wharf, trucks deliver, Union power died in the in fifties didn't it, maybe I am wrong, goodbye Auckland port, this is 2012 isn't it good fellow, principles is dead
ReplyDeleteRW - to help answer some of the points you raise.
ReplyDelete1. Len Brown lost all credibility months ago - remember Volare.
2. So called Union Bashing is self inflicted.
3. David Shearer appears to have more sense than to become involved in what is obviously a lost cause. I do note that the awful Darien Fenton managed to get herself on the 6pm TV1 news tonight - fortunately she did not have a speaking part.
Is this a case of Labours' "turning the page" ? Keeping its head down. Remember 3 out of 4 kiwis voted against Labour. " Working for familes for beneficiaries...unfinished business" taking wealth of good honest kiwis and giving it welfare dependants is Labours true agenda. Shearer keep out of it. Why should hard working NZer's should support lazy warfies working 5 out of every 8 hours. My taxes are subsidising these dinosaurs.
ReplyDeleteIt is imperative that Auckland has a world class productive port - not only for its own economic well being but for the countries economic well being as well.
ReplyDeleteFor NZ's econiomic well being to be sacrificed in the name of feather bedding for a few watersiders is outrageous.
The challenge for David Shearer and Len Brown is to find a way to disentangle themselves from 19th century union ideology and self interest and to embrace 21st century economic realities.
If they came out on the side of the unions then Brown will be a one term mayor and Shearer will be whistling in the wind with his claims to modernise the Labour party being nothing more than a joke.
Talk about dinosaurs! Those commenators above who apparently are suppporters of old-fashoined union-busting are harking back to a time when unions were not a recognised and legalised form of workers' organisation: pre the formation of the mass unions in the late 1800s.
ReplyDeleteThe only real-power workers have is through their ability to form and maintain collective organisations - unions.
Profit-hungry ship-owners and Port Companies would have wage-slavery as the norm if they got their way. In other words, workers at their beck and call and forced into unsafe speed-up practices which place human life (workers' lives) and workers' work-life balance second to the balance sheet bottom line.
What an insane society it is we live in where human needs come second to the demands of an out-of-control, inhuman, market-dominated system.
The Auckland Port container through-put rate more than stacks up against any comparable port in the world. The union has already made concessions on shift flexibility and other issues put up by the company, only to face further provocative moves by the employer, seemingly designed to de-unionise the port completely.
A publicly-owned facility like the Port should be setting an example of best work-practices, including treating its workers fairly - "clean, green and socially just" should be the operating motto; not "slash, bash and profits-at-any-cost".
Well said, Len.
ReplyDeleteIf the boss at Ports of Auckland believes his own bull-shit why does he not put his own job up for tender...the council could interview and select someone on on a smaller salary...after all thats what he is doing to the staff...much of the crap writen on this subject is simply just that...its always easy to stand up and condemn those who make a stand...while accepting all the benfits of past actions,never have I read such dribble by people who should know better,Len and Robert at least understand the realities of the struggle that is now confronting all New Zealanders these days.
ReplyDelete