Poverty Wages - NZ Workers' Stage Hunger Strike to Protest

From: Unite

"Over twenty professional market researchers will begin a hunger strike at 4pm today that their union says will last for at least twenty-four hours.

Market researchers from the residential team at the east Auckland call centre of the global market research firm Synovate, which has an annual turnover of $720 million have taken the action to protest poverty wages, often as low as $12.50, inadequate breaks and no job security.

The Unite Union which represents the market researchers at Synovate are asking for pay rates that would see full timers get paid $17 an hour and part timers get paid $15 an hour. Current pay rates are as low as $12.50, significantly less than the $21.72 an hour that Synovate researchers earn in Australia as a result of their strong union won agreement. Other improvements the union is asking for include union members being paid for shifts cancelled at short notice, five minutes break for each hour worked and guaranteed hours for long serving staff.

“Worker’s should not be expected to be the eyes and ears of corporate capitalism while working on poverty wages with no job security in a call centre that often has it’s carpet infested by fleas,” said Unite Union organiser Omar Hamed.

“The company seems to want to keep delaying raising our wages. Management has been telling us constantly that we should be tightening our belts. So we decided to take them at their word,” said Synovate call centre worker and union delegate Maria Evaroa.

“A recent survey by Synovate found that internationally New Zealanders are among the least concerned about the global recession. Yet there is a strong sense in Synovate’s own call centre that the company is using the recession as an excuse not to pay living wages.

“Aegis Group which owns Synovate made a £94.4 million profit in 2007. It was call centre workers like us who created that profit yet in the good times we never saw our fair share.

“Negotiating for living wages and good working conditions in the midst of an economic crisis has taught us that multinational corporations will always try and make workers pay for the crises they create,” concluded Maria Evaroa.

Union members will be on hunger strike from 4pm on Wednesday the 25th of February until 4pm on Thursday the 26th of February. A community picket will be held at Synovate’s call centre in Aviemore Drive, Highland Park from 5pm to 5.30pm on Thursday the 26th.

230,000 Children Living in Poverty in New Zealand

Source: NZHerald, Thurs 7 August, 2008

The Government is being urged to do more to alleviate child poverty in New Zealand in the wake of a major report issued today. Commissioned by Children's Commissioner Cindy Kiro and Barnardos, the report shows that about 230,000 children, or 22 per cent, of New Zealand children are living in unacceptable poverty. "There are too many poor children in New Zealand and ignoring them threatens our future economic prosperity and social well being," Dr Kiro said. Barnardos New Zealand chief executive Murray Edridge said the report made it clear that the country could not afford to sacrifice the healthy "development of our children and therefore our productive human capital". The Families Commission said families, communities, the business sector and government needed to work together to address poverty. Chief commissioner Rajen Prasad welcomed the report, A Fair Go For Children - Actions to Address Child Poverty in New Zealand, and said it added to the growing understanding of poverty issues within New Zealand. The Paediatric Society of New Zealand urged the Government to take seriously the policies proposed in the report, so that every child in New Zealand was able to grow up to reach their full potential.

How can you help?

The Child Poverty Action Group has some great suggestions:

Link: http://www.cpag.org.nz/campaigns/How_can_I_help.html

Getting The Homeless off the Streets, Auckland

Source: NZHerald, Thurs 4 Sept 2008

Council officers are working on ways to stop the homeless sleeping rough on city streets.

The move was prompted by complaints from the public about mattresses on footpaths, puddles of urine and people behaving offensively, especially near Aotea Square in the central city.

Auckland City Council's community services committee has asked officers for ways to increase the council's ability to intervene.

Councillor Paul Goldsmith has proposed asking Parliament to widen police powers to allow them to move rough sleepers along......

Mr Goldsmith said the Bill of Rights limited the council's actions.
"Maybe all we can do is ask Parliament as loudly and clearly as we can to bring in legislation that allows the police to do the job - picking people up and moving them somewhere else." Another option was hiring security guards to patrol troubled spots, he said.

Auckland City Missioner Diane Robertson acknowledged there was problem with rough sleepers. She said she received a lot of complaints from people who felt unsafe, as well as shopkeepers who wanted people moved from their doorways.

But the first step to solving the problem was to give people somewhere to go.

"These are people who don't have anywhere to go and they're sleeping out in the wet and the cold," Ms Robertson said.

"If we had enough beds, and people used them, it would make a huge difference [to the number of rough sleepers]."

The mission plans to apply to Auckland City Council in November for resource consent to build an 80-bed facility.

Ms Robertson said other countries had provided long-term housing solutions and then legislated against vagrancy.

"We can't just move them along if there's nowhere to go.