To NZCTU re Day of Action

To NZ Council of Trade Unions


From Waitemata Branch of Unite! Union

17th September 2012



The President

NZ Council of Trade Unions

Dear Helen Kelly

As we trust you are already aware, a call has been made to make Friday October 5th a national Day of Action to oppose the benefit reforms that the present National/Act /United Future/Maori Party government is hell-bent on inflicting upon the working class of this country and which is certain to have disastrous consequences for years to come, adding immeasurably to the deprivation already experienced by the hundreds of thousands of children raised in poverty.

As committed unionists we expect the union movement to give more than token support to this Day of Action, thereby expressing our understanding of the basic Trade Union principle an injury to one is an injury to all.

Last Saturday’s meeting of Waitemata branch of Unite! Union undertook to support the Day of Action with a demonstration either at Henderson WINZ office or at Paula Bennett’s electorate office or both. The following resolution, moved by Janet Bogle and seconded by Paul Robertson was also passed unanimously:“We call on the NZ Council of Trade Unions to call for a nationwide work stoppage on Friday 5th October at 1:00 P.M. to support the National Day of Action Against Welfare Reform.”

In relation to the above resolution, I will add a few remarks.

At a time when unemployment is higher than it has been for decades and scarcely a day goes by without news of major layoffs in one industry after another (announcements concerning Tiwai Point and Kawerau are just the most recent, we hardly need point out to leaders of organised labour the effects the benefit reforms are bound to have on employed workers as well as those rendered unemployed, with the increased competition for increasingly scarce jobs forcing job seekers to accept yet lower wages and increasingly dangerous working conditions. Only those taken in by neoliberal hype can doubt that the welfare reforms are calculated to have that effect, and must be seen as an attack on the working class as a whole.

On top of the principle of solidarity with those already unemployed and/or on benefits, it is clearly in the interests of employed workers to resist the welfare reforms with all the means that organised labour has at its disposal

Yours fraternally

Keith Henderson

Hon Secretary

Waitemata Branch

Unite!