"Unite" Enlists Socialist Journalist
From a "Unite" union press release on this morning's "Scoop"
Small Country’s Workers Take On Big Name Brands
"Young workers in a small country at the bottom of the world are taking industrial action against multinational fast-food brands in a bid to create decent working conditions for low paid and minimum wage workers.
New Zealand KFC workers were striking Saturday as part of the "SuperSizeMyPay" campaign to raise the minimum wage to NZ$12, abolish youth rates and gain secure working hours.
The campaign was launched by the Unite Union at last week's world-first Starbucks strike.
Simon Oosterman, coordinator for the SuperSizeMyPay campaign, said the strike was significant internationally as it was organised by predominately young, casualised workers in multinational brands that have been difficult to unionise globally.
High-profile activist, author and film-maker John Pilger has offered his support in the struggle, emphasising the international importance of the strikes."
"Poverty, the oldest scourge and the modern scourge, derives in much of the world from miserable pay for long hours of work. This is unacceptable in 'poor' countries. It is a disgrace in well-off countries like New Zealand,"
The Pilger connection is not hard to establish. The left's favourite journalist, Pilger, is a regular contributor to the Australian Marxist-Leninist paper "Green Left Weekly". He has also appeared at events organised by GLW's publishers, the Democratic Socialist Party.
Matt McCarten, Unite's leader has been in close contact with the Democratic Socialist Party for at least 15 years and has spoken at several of their conferences.
McCarten and Pilger have a mutual Australian friend. As Pilger will lend his name to almost any socialist cause it would not be difficult for Unite to solicit his support.
Small Country’s Workers Take On Big Name Brands
"Young workers in a small country at the bottom of the world are taking industrial action against multinational fast-food brands in a bid to create decent working conditions for low paid and minimum wage workers.
New Zealand KFC workers were striking Saturday as part of the "SuperSizeMyPay" campaign to raise the minimum wage to NZ$12, abolish youth rates and gain secure working hours.
The campaign was launched by the Unite Union at last week's world-first Starbucks strike.
Simon Oosterman, coordinator for the SuperSizeMyPay campaign, said the strike was significant internationally as it was organised by predominately young, casualised workers in multinational brands that have been difficult to unionise globally.
High-profile activist, author and film-maker John Pilger has offered his support in the struggle, emphasising the international importance of the strikes."
"Poverty, the oldest scourge and the modern scourge, derives in much of the world from miserable pay for long hours of work. This is unacceptable in 'poor' countries. It is a disgrace in well-off countries like New Zealand,"
The Pilger connection is not hard to establish. The left's favourite journalist, Pilger, is a regular contributor to the Australian Marxist-Leninist paper "Green Left Weekly". He has also appeared at events organised by GLW's publishers, the Democratic Socialist Party.
Matt McCarten, Unite's leader has been in close contact with the Democratic Socialist Party for at least 15 years and has spoken at several of their conferences.
McCarten and Pilger have a mutual Australian friend. As Pilger will lend his name to almost any socialist cause it would not be difficult for Unite to solicit his support.
posted by Trevor Loudon at
12/05/2005 10:18:00 AM
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