New Zealand
Super Size My Pay - Fast food workers in New Zealand organise for better pay and conditions, 2005-6
In New Zealand, hundreds of fast food workers waged an innovative campaign called Super-Size My Pay during 2005-06. This is one worker's overview and analysis of the campaign.
This text is taken from the December 2006 issue of the Industrial Workers of the World Australia's newsletter, Direct Action.
New Zealand news hit by 'lightning' strikes
State broadcaster TVNZ's flagship evening news has been targeted for industrial action, with staff walking off the job just before it went to air on Sunday night (5 Nov).
Auckland Newstalk reported that union members in various parts of the organisation carried out lightning strikes between four and seven o'clock. They also took industrial action before One News aired on Friday night.
The myth of passivity: class struggles against neoliberalism in Aotearoa in the 1990s - Toby Boraman
This article from 2004 discusses several episodes of resistance to austerity in New Zealand in the 1990s.
NZ: Maori dancers out on wildcat
Maori dancers employed at the Te Puia (formerly New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute) were out on wildcat strike yesterday.
The dancers are part of a performance group, "Mauri", which provides regular shows at the attraction. They walked out during the middle of an $85/head dinner and performance, then went to the offices of the attraction to stage a haka dance.
NZ: Trolley jam in support of locked out supermarket workers
A number of customers blocked aisles in a New Zealand supermarket yesterday in support of locked out employees.
Customers filled shopping trolleys with goods then used them to block the aisles of the Foodtown Tauranga supermarket. Each trolley included a message of support for the locked out workers.
1982: The death of Neil Roberts
A short account of a little known political death in New Zealand. In 1982, an anarchist punk rocker attempted to blow up the Wanganui police computer. He blew himself up in the process
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France: Protests take international turn
As the protests agains the First Employment Contract (CPE) continue in France, young workers and students across the world have begun to show support for the French movement or take similar action themselves.
http://libcom.org/blog has received reports from Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Japan, Brazil, the USA, New Zealand, Ireland and Turkey so far, with actions ranging from university occupations and school walkouts to protests against French consulates and businesses.
See also French version below.
After France, 1,000 students walk out in Auckland NZ
In Auckland, New Zealand today, over 1,000 high school students walked out of class to protest against youth pay rates, whilst linking their protest to the events in France.
The protest ended with some violence and a sit-down protest in a major intersection.
Students from schools including Auckland Girls Grammar, Selwyn College, Epsom Girls and Senior College went to a rally during school hours to demand equal pay with adults.
NZ: McDonald's backs down after lunchtime strike
McDonald’s workers in Auckland, New Zealand carried out a symbolic strike at lunchtime on Friday despite the company’s threats to sue individual workers if they took part in union action.
After the strike, the company retracted their threat issued last night to sue any of their workers who went on strike today.
The symbolic strike was in response to a number of Unite union members being rostered off by the company on Sunday February 12, when it was agreed the workers would be paid to go to a union stopwork meeting at the Town Hall.
First starbucks strike in the world!
It was bound to happen eventually -- and it happened today in New Zealand. Low-paid Starbucks workers walked off the job and formed a picket line.
They were joined by workers from other low paid, fast-food restaurants such as KFC and Pizza Hut.
Starbucks, which tries to project an image as a caring, progressive, company, has some 80,000 employees worldwide. It pays those workers minimum wage or only slightly above, and generally does not welcome unions.
