Unions Make The Difference

CTU Media Release
17.10.07

Fairness and respect at work
UNIONS MAKE THE DIFFERENCE

SPEECH BY HELEN KELLY, CTU PRESIDENT
CTU CONFERENCE
WEDNESDAY 17 OCTOBER 2007

Today we are launching the political strategy for unions heading into the election next year. Our political strategy sends a strong and unequivocal signal that there is a very significant role for unions in politics. We represent the views of working people in political debate - our message provides a vision of a fair society where amongst other things work pays, social services like health and education are available to all regardless of income, and New Zealand is a peaceful society where all are treated with respect and are treated equally. This is the vision held by most New Zealanders for this country and is inconsistent with the vision we have been hearing recently from the National party - in their vision public services are cut and privatised, workers can be dismissed unfairly for any reason in the first 90 days of employment and the cost of doctors visits go up.

And we have a strong mandate for this message. With more than 350,000 union members and growing steadily it's a powerful mandate. We are the largest democratic movement in New Zealand. We are strong, we are in good heart and we are proud to represent working people. I want to thank every union activist here today for the contribution you make. You are the union movement.

This political strategy is also about more than the next election. Our message is for the long term and it builds on our previous political activity.

Of course the next election is vital. It means the difference between moving forward on our agenda and moving backwards.

We are not affiliated to any political party and we will work with any political party that supports our goals - but we are also not naive - we know the difference a government can make to the lives of working people. We know the stark difference between the current government with its support partners and the governments of the 1990s.

We know in the 1990s wages decreased, rights were removed, penal rates were cut, state houses were sold, tax cuts were implemented at the expense of public services and at the expense of investment in roads and other infrastructure. We know that unemployment was high and benefits were cut. We know ACC was privatised, health and safety law was toothless and a worker's right to strike for a multi employer agreement was illegal.

In contrast the last seven years couldn't have been more different. Yes there is more to do - lots more - but before we get onto that - let's consider it through our eyes as working people.

A billion dollars on new hospitals and cheaper doctors visits and prescriptions. Income related rentals for state housing. 20 hours free early childhood education and thousands of additional teachers in our schools. Interest free student loans and modern apprenticeships. Working for Families. Kiwi Saver. 4 weeks annual leave, 14 weeks paid parental leave, time and a half for statutory holiday work, a 60% increase in the minimum wage and now the removal of youth rates. Our social insurance scheme ACC brought back into public control and worker participation in health and safety. Increased wages for workers like nurses, teachers and aged care workers. And the legitimate role of unions recognized through our Employment Relations Act - the right to join a union and bargain collectively, the right to union education and meetings, the right to strike in support of multi employer agreements, the right to keep your job when the company is sold or transferred and the right to protection from being unfairly dismissed.

Yes it is a hard road finding the perfect government but it would be without foresight and without hindsight not to compare this last seven years with the previous seven years and to spot the difference.

And it is also important to say that unions have played a large role in these achievements. From our industrial and political campaigns we have created the pressure for these changes and we have influenced how people vote to get a government that can and will deliver them. We have won things industrially that have gone on to be offered as part of our minimum code of employment rights, we have campaigned for the removal of youth rates, the defeat of the 90 Day No Rights bill, we have trained 14,000 health and safety reps, campaigned for high quality well funded public services and done lots more.

So this strategy builds on our success and sets out the agenda for the next 5 to 10 years - it ensures our vision continues to be influential in this country and it exposes those that have an alternative anti New Zealand vision.

As a union movement we develop our own policies and priorities on all the important issues facing us as a country and we encourage our union members and their families to be active politically. We think it's not only a right, but a responsibility for people to be politically active.

This includes taking part in the most fundamental of democratic acts, that of voting. Unions played a powerful role in helping people to get on to the electoral roll in previous elections, and we will do so again. Last election one in five people on the electoral roll did not vote.

And look at the local government elections this weekend. We should worry that Auckland has John Banks for Mayor with only 37 percent of the vote - Aucklanders rely on local government services in Auckland - how councils invest in local government is as important to workers as how central government invests in public services

Politics does matter, it does impact on our lives as working people and getting this message across is an important part of our political strategy.

In the 2005 election unions were critical in turning out the voters in South Auckland which tipped the balance in deciding the election outcome. We will do it again. We will work with our members to make sure they are on the electoral roll and that they understand the key issues and debates leading up to the election; and that they are active in seeking answers from candidates on the issues that matter most to them. This includes setting out our aspirations for work and securing political commitments to them. Issues like pay, training, industry agreements, reducing hours of work and work stability, reducing casualisation. Work is important to us - we spend lots of our life time doing it, we want it to be interesting, provide opportunities and provide decent pay.

We also understand that as working people we all have lives outside work. Working people live in communities, and as part of a wider society.

Protecting and enhancing workers rights, stronger public services, and higher wages.

These are the planks of our political strategy, and the ground on which we will campaign in election year. Importantly, they spell out a vision beyond 2008.

We think these measures will lead to a more sustainable society. Carol will talk in more detail about each of these and what we are planning to do. But these areas capture our priorities and highlight the areas we want to protect and build on - these are central union agenda issues for working people- if we don't advocate and highlight them - no one will.

And we need to be careful in the tax cut debate. As union members we understand the benefit of collective effort and resources - that is why we join together in unions - we pay fees and act collectively to combine our effort in the knowledge that alone we will be unsuccessful and together we will be greater than the power of our numbers.

Tax is the same - we don't want to pay for our own childrens' education - when that happens, kids miss out - we want quality tax funded education. 1 billion dollars in taxes could pay for 10,000 more teachers, or acres more national parks, or the purchase of some of those camp grounds being closed down and sold, or the building of more clean energy to reduce climate change, or more funding to move aged care workers out of poverty wages, or closing the gender pay gap or more for health care. Collectively it's a lot - in a tax cut it is a small amount.

Public services play a critical role in the lives of New Zealanders. We do have quality public services in New Zealand and we should all be proud of them.

The greatest thing that all our public services have in common is people. Public services are for all people.

And as we all know it's our taxes that pay for these services.

Now the NZ economy is in pretty good shape, and many will feel better off than they were five years ago. Some working people may believe that it's time they enjoyed a tax cut. A bit of extra money in their pocket to take home every week.

But they also believe that investing in the public sector will have the effect of raising everyone's living standards and is an important thing to do. Workers certainly do not want cuts to public services.

Some think we can afford to do both. But a tax cut of just $15 a week for all income earners adds up to $1.5 billion. That's almost as much as working for families provides a year to the families that need it. And they get a damn sight more than $15 a week.

So there may be tax cuts coming - but they must not undermine the public services we need now and in the future. And they need to be fair. And from a union perspective, we will continue to argue that the main problem with take home pay is the low wage paid by employers.

That is a much better way to put more money in our pockets every week. We have already seen significant movement in the minimum wage, and shortly Carol will outline our policy of taking the next step.

But there is a strong case for a three pronged approach to address low pay, and that in addition to increasing the minimum wage and investing in skills, the Employment Relations Act must be significantly amended to genuinely promote industry and multi-employer collective bargaining.

And this will benefit industry as well - they should not be competing on wages - it drives all wages down and prohibits investment in workers such as training at work - industry should compete on the quality of their products and having industry standard agreements will encourage them to do that.

It is also a truth that workers care about the industries they work in and want a strong economy as much as business does. We are not just saying higher wages and no change - we are advocating for increased investment in training and involvement of workers in work practices and other initiatives that will increase productivity. All of us want a strong economy but along side that wages must increase.

We want decent incomes and decent work. It's not too much to ask. And unions have views on what decent work is, and what a workplace of the future might look like. The working lives of many workers are still characterised by low pay and a sense of being undervalued in workplaces that remain hierarchical and dysfunctional.

This is a long way from our vision of a modern workplace where participation in decent work is a vital part of our democracy and essential to the lasting success of our social and economic development. Today we are also launching a booklet on our views of the workplace of the future, and Peter will talk to this soon.

So working people and their families believe that unions have an essential role to play in our society. They have told us, in research we did recently. And they told us they agree unions should be political.

We have worked all year developing the basis to our political strategy. We have researched the views of working people. We have talked to our members. We are focused. We are determined and we are unified. We also have specific plans which Carol will provide more detail on.

Put simply, our political strategy is about fairness and respect at work and in our communities. It's not too much to ask, it's not too much to hope for. We know that it's unions that make the difference and we intend to keep on doing so.

Thank you.

ENDS

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