

Currently released so far... 12689 / 251,287
Browse latest releases
2010/12/01
2010/12/02
2010/12/03
2010/12/04
2010/12/05
2010/12/06
2010/12/07
2010/12/08
2010/12/09
2010/12/10
2010/12/11
2010/12/12
2010/12/13
2010/12/14
2010/12/15
2010/12/16
2010/12/17
2010/12/18
2010/12/19
2010/12/20
2010/12/21
2010/12/22
2010/12/23
2010/12/24
2010/12/25
2010/12/26
2010/12/27
2010/12/28
2010/12/29
2010/12/30
2011/01/01
2011/01/02
2011/01/04
2011/01/05
2011/01/07
2011/01/09
2011/01/10
2011/01/11
2011/01/12
2011/01/13
2011/01/14
2011/01/15
2011/01/16
2011/01/17
2011/01/18
2011/01/19
2011/01/20
2011/01/21
2011/01/22
2011/01/23
2011/01/24
2011/01/25
2011/01/26
2011/01/27
2011/01/28
2011/01/29
2011/01/30
2011/01/31
2011/02/01
2011/02/02
2011/02/03
2011/02/04
2011/02/05
2011/02/06
2011/02/07
2011/02/08
2011/02/09
2011/02/10
2011/02/11
2011/02/12
2011/02/13
2011/02/14
2011/02/15
2011/02/16
2011/02/17
2011/02/18
2011/02/19
2011/02/20
2011/02/21
2011/02/22
2011/02/23
2011/02/24
2011/02/25
2011/02/26
2011/02/27
2011/02/28
2011/03/01
2011/03/02
2011/03/03
2011/03/04
2011/03/05
2011/03/06
2011/03/07
2011/03/08
2011/03/09
2011/03/10
2011/03/11
2011/03/13
2011/03/14
2011/03/15
2011/03/16
2011/03/17
2011/03/18
2011/03/19
2011/03/20
2011/03/21
2011/03/22
2011/03/23
2011/03/24
2011/03/25
2011/03/26
2011/03/27
2011/03/28
2011/03/29
2011/03/30
2011/03/31
2011/04/01
2011/04/02
2011/04/03
2011/04/04
2011/04/05
2011/04/06
2011/04/07
2011/04/08
2011/04/09
2011/04/10
2011/04/11
2011/04/12
2011/04/13
2011/04/14
2011/04/15
2011/04/16
2011/04/17
2011/04/18
2011/04/19
2011/04/20
2011/04/21
2011/04/22
2011/04/23
2011/04/24
2011/04/25
2011/04/26
2011/04/27
2011/04/28
2011/04/29
2011/04/30
2011/05/01
2011/05/02
2011/05/03
2011/05/04
2011/05/05
2011/05/06
2011/05/07
2011/05/08
2011/05/09
2011/05/10
2011/05/11
2011/05/12
2011/05/13
2011/05/14
2011/05/15
2011/05/16
2011/05/17
2011/05/18
2011/05/19
Browse by creation date
Browse by origin
Embassy Athens
Embassy Asuncion
Embassy Astana
Embassy Asmara
Embassy Ashgabat
Embassy Apia
Embassy Ankara
Embassy Amman
Embassy Algiers
Embassy Addis Ababa
Embassy Accra
Embassy Abuja
Embassy Abu Dhabi
Embassy Abidjan
Consulate Auckland
Consulate Amsterdam
Consulate Adana
American Institute Taiwan, Taipei
Embassy Bujumbura
Embassy Buenos Aires
Embassy Budapest
Embassy Bucharest
Embassy Brussels
Embassy Bridgetown
Embassy Bratislava
Embassy Brasilia
Embassy Bogota
Embassy Bishkek
Embassy Bern
Embassy Berlin
Embassy Belmopan
Embassy Belgrade
Embassy Beirut
Embassy Beijing
Embassy Banjul
Embassy Bangkok
Embassy Bandar Seri Begawan
Embassy Bamako
Embassy Baku
Embassy Baghdad
Consulate Barcelona
Embassy Copenhagen
Embassy Conakry
Embassy Colombo
Embassy Chisinau
Embassy Caracas
Embassy Canberra
Embassy Cairo
Consulate Curacao
Consulate Ciudad Juarez
Consulate Chennai
Consulate Casablanca
Consulate Cape Town
Consulate Calgary
Embassy Dushanbe
Embassy Dublin
Embassy Doha
Embassy Djibouti
Embassy Dili
Embassy Dhaka
Embassy Dar Es Salaam
Embassy Damascus
Embassy Dakar
Consulate Dubai
Embassy Helsinki
Embassy Harare
Embassy Hanoi
Consulate Ho Chi Minh City
Consulate Hermosillo
Consulate Hamilton
Consulate Hamburg
Consulate Halifax
Embassy Kyiv
Embassy Kuwait
Embassy Kuala Lumpur
Embassy Kinshasa
Embassy Kingston
Embassy Kigali
Embassy Khartoum
Embassy Kathmandu
Embassy Kampala
Embassy Kabul
Consulate Kolkata
Embassy Luxembourg
Embassy Luanda
Embassy London
Embassy Ljubljana
Embassy Lisbon
Embassy Lima
Embassy Lilongwe
Embassy La Paz
Consulate Lahore
Consulate Lagos
Mission USOSCE
Mission USNATO
Mission UNESCO
Embassy Muscat
Embassy Moscow
Embassy Montevideo
Embassy Monrovia
Embassy Minsk
Embassy Mexico
Embassy Mbabane
Embassy Maputo
Embassy Manila
Embassy Manama
Embassy Managua
Embassy Malabo
Embassy Madrid
Consulate Munich
Consulate Mumbai
Consulate Montreal
Consulate Monterrey
Consulate Milan
Consulate Melbourne
Embassy Nicosia
Embassy Niamey
Embassy New Delhi
Embassy Ndjamena
Embassy Nassau
Embassy Nairobi
Consulate Naples
Consulate Naha
Embassy Pristina
Embassy Pretoria
Embassy Prague
Embassy Port Of Spain
Embassy Port Louis
Embassy Port Au Prince
Embassy Phnom Penh
Embassy Paris
Embassy Paramaribo
Embassy Panama
Consulate Peshawar
REO Basrah
Embassy Rome
Embassy Riyadh
Embassy Riga
Embassy Reykjavik
Embassy Rangoon
Embassy Rabat
Consulate Rio De Janeiro
Consulate Recife
Secretary of State
Embassy Suva
Embassy Stockholm
Embassy Sofia
Embassy Skopje
Embassy Singapore
Embassy Seoul
Embassy Sarajevo
Embassy Santo Domingo
Embassy Santiago
Embassy Sanaa
Embassy San Salvador
Embassy San Jose
Consulate Strasbourg
Consulate St Petersburg
Consulate Shenyang
Consulate Shanghai
Consulate Sapporo
Consulate Sao Paulo
Embassy Tunis
Embassy Tripoli
Embassy Tokyo
Embassy The Hague
Embassy Tel Aviv
Embassy Tehran
Embassy Tegucigalpa
Embassy Tbilisi
Embassy Tashkent
Embassy Tallinn
Consulate Toronto
Consulate Tijuana
USUN New York
USEU Brussels
US Office Almaty
US Mission Geneva
US Interests Section Havana
US Delegation, Secretary
UNVIE
Embassy Ulaanbaatar
Embassy Vilnius
Embassy Vienna
Embassy Vatican
Embassy Valletta
Consulate Vladivostok
Consulate Vancouver
Browse by tag
AF
ASEC
AR
AEMR
AMGT
AE
AU
AID
AORC
APER
AS
AM
AFIN
AMED
AJ
AGR
ACOA
ANET
ASIG
ABLD
AL
AA
APECO
AGAO
AY
AGMT
APEC
AINF
AG
ACS
AECL
AFFAIRS
ABUD
ASUP
ADANA
AADP
AMCHAMS
ARF
ASEAN
ADPM
ATRN
ALOW
APCS
ADCO
ACAO
AORG
AROC
AO
AODE
ACABQ
AX
AMEX
AFGHANISTAN
AZ
AND
ARM
AQ
ATFN
AMBASSADOR
ACBAQ
AFSI
AFSN
AC
AUC
ASEX
AER
AVERY
AGRICULTURE
ASCH
AFU
AMG
ATPDEA
ASECKFRDCVISKIRFPHUMSMIGEG
AORL
ADM
AN
AIT
BU
BR
BL
BO
BA
BB
BG
BM
BBSR
BH
BEXP
BK
BD
BTIO
BT
BE
BY
BF
BX
BP
BRUSSELS
BILAT
BIDEN
BC
BMGT
BWC
BN
BTIU
CH
CG
CF
CU
CE
CVIS
CASC
CO
CS
CA
CIDA
CBW
CW
CMGT
CI
CODEL
CY
CPAS
CJAN
CD
CWC
CDG
CIA
CL
CROS
CAPC
CTR
CT
CR
CBSA
CEUDA
COM
CFED
CV
CACS
CARSON
CLINTON
CN
CONS
CM
CAC
CIC
COPUOS
CDC
CONDOLEEZZA
CICTE
COUNTER
COUNTRY
CBE
CKGR
CHR
CVR
COUNTERTERRORISM
CITEL
CLEARANCE
COE
CARICOM
CB
CSW
CITT
CACM
CDB
CJUS
CTM
CAN
CLMT
CBC
CNARC
CIS
EG
EZ
EUN
ECON
ETRD
ECPS
EFIN
ENRG
ETTC
EPET
EINV
EAID
EAIR
EWWT
EU
EAGR
EC
ELAB
EIND
EN
EMIN
ESENV
ENNP
EFIS
ELTN
ET
ECIN
EFTA
ES
EINT
EI
ENGR
ETRDEINVECINPGOVCS
ENVI
ETRDECONWTOCS
ECINECONCS
ELN
ELECTIONS
ENVR
EXTERNAL
EXIM
ETRO
ENIV
ESA
ER
EK
EUR
EFINECONCS
EUMEM
EUREM
EPA
ERNG
ENERG
ECA
ETRC
EINVEFIN
ETC
EAP
ECONOMY
EINN
ECONOMIC
EXBS
ECUN
ENGY
ECONOMICS
EIAR
EINDETRD
ECONEFIN
EURN
EDU
ETRDEINVTINTCS
ECIP
EFIM
EAIDS
EREL
EINVETC
ECONCS
ETRA
EAIG
EUC
ERD
ETRN
EINVECONSENVCSJA
EEPET
EUNCH
IS
IZ
IR
IC
IO
IN
ID
IGAD
IT
ILC
IAEA
ITU
ICAO
IMO
IBRD
IMF
ICJ
IAHRC
ITF
INRA
INRO
IWC
IQ
IV
ICRC
ICTY
INRB
IEFIN
ILO
ITRA
ITALY
IBET
ISRAELI
IL
INTELSAT
IRC
IDP
ICTR
IRAQI
IPR
IIP
INMARSAT
ITPGOV
ITALIAN
INTERNAL
IRS
IA
INTERPOL
IEA
INR
IZPREL
IRAJ
IF
ITPHUM
ISRAEL
IACI
INDO
IDA
ISLAMISTS
KSPR
KNNP
KWBG
KAWK
KISL
KPAO
KN
KS
KIPR
KCRM
KDEM
KIRF
KJUS
KHLS
KSCA
KOMC
KAWC
KV
KFRD
KWMN
KTIP
KPWR
KSUM
KGHG
KTIA
KTFN
KIRC
KCOR
KACT
KMDR
KGIC
KOLY
KUNR
KIDE
KMPI
KPKO
KCFE
KVPR
KRAD
KPAL
KFRDCVISCMGTCASCKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG
KTEX
KTDB
KFSC
KZ
KSEP
KFLU
KE
KU
KPLS
KRVC
KRIM
KSTH
KG
KFLO
KPOA
KICC
KDDG
KPRV
KTBT
KBCT
KSAF
KMOC
KDRG
KBIO
KREC
KSTC
KVRP
KBTR
KMIG
KENV
KNSD
KCGC
KWAC
KFRDKIRFCVISCMGTKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG
KWMM
KPRP
KNEI
KPAI
KO
KVIR
KX
KMCA
KCRS
KMFO
KID
KCIP
KNAR
KR
KCRCM
KBTS
KSEO
KHDP
KFIN
KOCI
KGIT
KNUP
KPAONZ
KNUC
KNNPMNUC
KERG
KSCI
KTLA
KHIV
KCSY
KTRD
KMRS
KNPP
KJUST
KCMR
KTER
KRCM
KCFC
KSAC
KCHG
KREL
KFTFN
KCOM
KLIG
KDEMAF
KAID
KGCC
KICA
KHUM
KSEC
KPIN
KESS
KDEV
KWWMN
KOM
KWNM
KRFD
KRGY
KIFR
KWMNCS
KPAK
KOMS
KHSA
MPOS
MOPS
MARR
MTCR
MNUC
MASS
MX
MCAP
MAR
MTRE
MASC
MK
MG
MTCRE
MI
MD
MA
MO
MY
MU
ML
MRCRE
MAS
MEDIA
MC
MR
MIL
MW
MARAD
MAPP
MZ
MP
MOPPS
MTS
MLS
MILI
MEPN
MEPI
MEETINGS
MERCOSUR
MT
MCC
MIK
MAPS
MV
MILITARY
MDC
MEPP
MASSMNUC
MUCN
MQADHAFI
NATO
NG
NL
NZ
NT
NW
NO
NU
NS
NPT
NASA
NI
NK
NSG
NE
NORAD
NAFTA
NP
NATIONAL
NSSP
NSF
NA
NGO
NV
NR
NDP
NIPP
NZUS
NH
NC
NEW
NRR
NAR
NATOPREL
NPG
NSC
NPA
NSFO
OPDC
OPRC
OEXC
OTRA
ODIP
OIIP
OVIP
OPIC
OPCW
OAS
OREP
OSCE
OSCI
OES
OFDP
OECD
OCS
OIC
OPAD
OVP
OHUM
OFFICIALS
OIE
OTR
OMIG
OSAC
OBSP
OFDA
ON
OCII
PREL
PGOV
PARM
PINR
PTER
PHUM
PK
PREF
PM
PHSA
PA
PINS
PE
PBTS
PCI
PO
PL
POGOV
PAK
PEL
PGIV
PROP
PP
PBIO
POL
POLITICS
POLICY
PINL
PBT
PMIL
POV
PTBS
PG
POSTS
PALESTINIAN
PROV
PNAT
PINF
PRL
PAS
PDOV
PRAM
PREO
PAHO
PHUMPGOV
PAO
PREFA
PSI
POLITICAL
PAIGH
PARMS
PROG
PTERE
PRGOV
PORG
PS
PGOF
PKFK
PSOE
PEPR
PPA
PINT
PMAR
PRELP
PNG
PFOR
PUNE
PGOVLO
PHUMBA
PSEPC
PNR
POLINT
PGOVE
PHALANAGE
PARTY
PDEM
PECON
PGOC
PY
PLN
PHUH
PF
PHUS
PU
PARTIES
PCUL
PGGV
PSA
PGOVSMIGKCRMKWMNPHUMCVISKFRDCA
PHUMPREL
RS
RU
RW
REACTION
RCMP
RSO
RO
RP
ROOD
RM
ROBERT
RICE
REGION
RSP
RF
RIGHTS
RIGHTSPOLMIL
RUPREL
RELATIONS
RFE
REPORT
SY
SP
SOCI
SMIG
SNAR
SCUL
SC
SU
SO
SI
SENV
SZ
SW
SA
SR
SF
SEVN
SN
STEINBERG
SEN
SG
SYR
SWE
SK
SH
SNARCS
SAARC
SNARIZ
SPCE
SARS
SNARN
SCRS
SYRIA
SL
SENVKGHG
SAN
ST
SIPDIS
SSA
SPCVIS
SOFA
SANC
SHI
SHUM
SIPRS
TSPA
TSPL
TU
TBIO
TRGY
TPHY
TS
TP
TW
TBID
TI
TF
TZ
TD
TT
TN
TNGD
TC
TX
TH
TL
TIP
THPY
TV
TK
TERRORISM
TO
TRSY
TURKEY
TINT
TFIN
TAGS
TR
US
UNSC
UNGA
UK
UP
UNCHC
UN
UNMIK
UNCSD
UY
USTR
USOAS
UNHRC
UNFCYP
UG
UNAUS
UNESCO
UNIDROIT
UNO
UV
UNHCR
USUN
UZ
USNC
UNCHR
UNCND
UNEP
USEU
USPS
USAID
UE
UNVIE
UAE
UNDP
UNODC
UNCHS
UNFICYP
UNDESCO
UNC
UNPUOS
UNDC
UNICEF
Browse by classification
Community resources
courage is contagious
Viewing cable 05WELLINGTON387, NEW ZEALAND'S UNIONS FLEXING THEIR MUSCLES
If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs
Understanding cables
Every cable message consists of three parts:
- The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was.
- The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject.
- The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.
Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #05WELLINGTON387.
Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin |
---|---|---|---|---|
05WELLINGTON387 | 2005-05-17 03:24 | 2011-04-28 00:00 | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | Embassy Wellington |
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 WELLINGTON 000387
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
STATE FOR DRL/IL AND EAP/ANP
E.O. 12356: N/A
TAGS: ELAB ECON PHUM NZ
SUBJECT: NEW ZEALAND'S UNIONS FLEXING THEIR MUSCLES
(U) Sensitive but unclassified -- please protect
accordingly.
¶1. (U) Summary: After a decade of quiet on the labor front,
New Zealand's unions are again walking the picket line
against a spectrum of industries. Emboldened by union-
friendly legislation enacted in 2000 and 2004 and anxious to
grab a bigger slice of the country's recent prosperity,
organized labor has in recent months launched a series of
work stoppages in pursuit of higher wages. The stoppages
are expected to continue through the Southern Hemisphere
winter, possibly affecting the national election campaign
that will start sometime within the next 100 days. The
timing of labor's newfound restiveness does not please the
Labour government, which had thought it had appeased workers
by legislating stronger protections for employees, raising
the minimum wage, increasing annual leave and providing paid
parental leave. End summary.
Striking for more pay
---------------------
¶2. (U) In February, the Engineering, Printing and
Manufacturing Union (EPMU) -- New Zealand's largest union
with 50,000 members -- began a "Fair Share - Five in 05"
campaign, seeking a 5 percent annual increase in wages. The
campaign was endorsed by 32 other unions, all members of the
Council of Trade Unions. Organized labor sees the campaign
as the most important since 1991, when a National government
crippled the union movement by abolishing compulsory
unionism (closed shop) and national awards, which set
minimum pay rates and conditions in a particular industry
for all workers, even those not in a union.
¶3. (U) Metal workers on March 15 began a series of one-day
strikes in the first industrial action in pursuit of the
first national employment agreement in a decade. Other
workers -- including university staff, bank workers, bus
drivers, miners, hospital workers, furniture and
manufacturing workers and security guards -- have followed
in step. Most have engaged in brief work stoppages and
rolling strikes. A Colgate-Palmolive plant in Petone,
outside Wellington, was struck beginning April 4 for the
first time in its 50-year history. Coal miners walked out
nationwide for 48 hours starting April 21, their first
strike in more than 10 years. Staff members at the National
Bank of New Zealand held a one-day strike on April 22, their
first industrial action in almost 20 years. In April,
strikes were called at a rate of almost one a day. There
were only 34 work stoppages in all of 2004, when losses in
wages and salaries attributed to work stoppages fell to
their lowest levels since 1970.
¶4. (U) Unlike any year since 1991, this year's strikes are
hitting a broad cross-section of New Zealand industry,
according to labor and business leaders. "It feels like the
old days" of militant unionism, said Phil O'Reilly, chief
executive of Business New Zealand, which represents the
interests of businesses and employers. The recent strikes
may reverse a downward trend in work stoppages that started
in the late 1970s.
¶5. (U) The metal workers originally sought a 7 percent
annual pay raise, but in early May settled for something
less -- a 5 percent pay increase over 15 months. That works
out to an annualized increase of about 4 percent. The
agreement covers 70 companies so far and more than 1,000
workers. EPMU expects the industrial actions to continue
through the New Zealand winter, according to Peter Conway,
economist and policy/industrial director for the Council of
Trade Unions (CTU). The council's members represent about
88 percent of New Zealand's organized labor, or 300,000
workers.
Feeling strong, but discontent
------------------------------
¶6. (U) Two factors help explain the recent rise in labor
actions, according to business and union representatives.
First, organized labor is feeling empowered by two pieces of
legislation passed by the Labour government to spur union
membership. The Employment Relations Act of 2000, which
repealed the National government's 1991 labor relations law,
promotes and supports collective agreements rather than
individual contracts that had become the norm for New
Zealand workers. An amendment to the law, enacted in late
2004, makes it easier for unions to negotiate multi-employer
collective agreements and harder for companies to opt out of
such negotiations. The amendment "put more tools in unions'
hands," O'Reilly said.
¶7. (U) Second, workers also have become disgruntled watching
their wage rates grow more slowly than the New Zealand
economy. Average wage rates increased just 2.5 percent in
2004, amid an economy that grew 4.8 percent. Executives'
average salaries rose 5.2 percent last year, and company
profits -- based on tax data -- jumped 19 percent. (Even
Conway conceded that actual company profits may have been
less, since the data included new companies and reflected
some deferred losses.) With unemployment in 2004 at 3.6
percent, the lowest in the developed world, workers are
feeling emboldened to seek higher wages.
¶8. (U) Unions are presenting their demand for a 5 percent
wage increase as simply a means to provide workers with a
"fair share" of the economic growth of the last five years,
Conway said. O'Reilly criticized the EPMU's 5 percent
campaign for failing to consider differences between
industries. Some companies just cannot afford a one-size-
fits-all wage increase, he said. Conway noted that the rate
was based partly on 2.7 percent inflation in 2004 as
measured by the Consumers Price Index.
¶9. (U) Organized labor also is betting that its well-
publicized activism will revive interest in unions and boost
sagging membership. Union membership fell by half in the
eight years between the National government's 1991 reforms
and 1999. Unionized workers numbered 340,413 last year, or
21.5 percent of the workforce, compared to 51 percent of the
workforce in 1991, the last year when unions could bargain
for a closed shop. The Employment Relations Act of 2000
helped arrest the decline in membership, with unions gaining
40,000 new members since then. But that increase in
membership has not kept pace with strong employment growth
in recent years. The 2004 amendment could help make a
difference: It requires nonunion workers to pay a
"bargaining fee" to obtain wage rates and conditions
negotiated by a union. While the nonunion workers can
choose not to pay the fee, they then would have to negotiate
their own contracts. Employers expect that provision to
boost union membership, O'Reilly said.
Biting the hand that fed it
---------------------------
¶10. (U) The timing of the unions' campaign is odd, with the
economy showing signs of slowing and with workers' political
ally, the Labour Party, seeking a third term in this year's
election. Conway explained that, six months ago when the
unions were planning their strategy for wage hikes, the
economy still was booming. It is not unusual for pay
demands to lag economic reality, O'Reilly said.
¶11. (SBU) The unions also did not have the Labour government
foremost in its thoughts as it planned its drive for wage
increases. When the Prime Minister was asked by reporters
about the campaign, she reacted coolly, suggesting that any
pay negotiations should take into account the tax relief
that the government was providing to low- and middle-income
families beginning April 1. Conway acknowledged to post
that the EPMU had failed to adequately brief the Prime
Minister.
¶12. (U) Several government ministers have complained to the
EPMU about the campaign, Conway said. The ministers worry
that the industrial actions will become a campaign issue --
that the government will be blamed for low wages or for the
inconvenience the strikes cause, particularly a bus drivers'
action that repeatedly disrupted Auckland's commuter flow.
The opposition National Party already has blamed the
government's policies for the disruptions, claiming that tax
cuts would be a more effective way to raise incomes for all
New Zealanders.
¶13. (U) The ministers also worry about the effect on public-
sector negotiations, with several contracts coming up for
renewal later this year. The CTU is sensitive to these
concerns, Conway said. For example, it has cautioned the
striking bus drivers' union, which does not belong to the
CTU, that it risked alienating the public with its week-long
strike and rejection of a wage offer that appeared to be
reasonable.
¶14. (U) Nonetheless, Conway asserted that recent labor
activism was the result of the government not going far
enough in reforming the nation's labor law and not making it
easier to spread wage increases across industries. The
unions had hoped the 2004 amendment would institute a multi-
employer award system, similar to that in Australia. But
the unions realized they would not win such a provision in
the face of employers' strong opposition to even "mild"
elements of the amendment, Conway said.
¶15. (U) Meanwhile, government ministers are reported to be
mystified at what some see as labor's ingratitude. Since
1999, in addition to the legislated protections for workers,
the Labour government has provided an extra week of annual
leave, for a total of four weeks' paid leave; boosted the
minimum wage each year; increased wages for working on
holidays; and, introduced paid parental leave.
Comment
-------
¶16. (U) Old-time labor leaders can still recall when their
unions could slam the brakes on the New Zealand economy and
even bring about changes in political power. But those
memories are fading. Today's reality is that labor unions
wield limited political power and a marginal economic
impact. As a result, they are pursuing a bid to revive
their fortunes as shapers of the New Zealand economy and its
social fabric. With the effects of the 2004 amendment still
to be seen, it is too early to tell whether organized labor
can convert such legislative victories into significant
increases in public support and union membership. But the
unions' actions -- coming soon before general elections and
at what Finance Minister Cullen warns is the start of a long-
predicted economic downturn -- could hardly have come at a
worst time for the government.
SWINDELLS