Ian Powell

  • NZ government spending less on health

    NZ government spending less on healthWELLINGTON — Since the 1991 budget the National Party government has overturned New Zealand's health service by converting area health boards into profit-oriented companies (crown health

  • New Zealand ferry company aims to break unions

    WELLINGTON — The major industrial dispute is under way between the recently privatised New Zealand Rail company and the ferry crews it employs. NZ Rail operates the ferries that ship passengers, vehicles and freight between New

  • NZ child-care scam exposed

    NZ child-care scam exposedWELLINGTON — Child-care has not been immune to the drive from the mid-1980s towards deregulation and privatisation in New Zealand. Private child-care facilities are able to receive government

  • NZ spending falls

    NZ spending fallsWELLINGTON — A report from the Statistics Department has confirmed how extensive and widespread the impact of unemployment and repressive economic policies has been in New Zealand. The department surveyed

  • NZ pulp and paper workers fight back

    NZ pulp and paper workers fight backWELLINGTON — Although there have been pockets of determined resistance since the introduction of the Employment Contracts Act in May 1991, in general workers have been on the back foot,

  • Alliance still high in NZ polls

    WELLINGTON — The newly formed Alliance of progressive third parties continues to perform extraordinarily well in opinion polls, suggesting that this new formation is likely to turn the country's two-party system into a

  • Big swing to left in NZ poll

    WELLINGTON — There has been a dramatic shift in the popularity of New Zealand's political parties. A Morgan Gallup opinion poll conducted last month recorded a striking increase in support for the left-wing NewLabour Party from

  • Legal right to exploit

    WELLINGTON — Workers at the Ashton Rest Home in Marton (a small rural town in the central North Island) are experiencing the exploitative nature of the Employment Contracts Act. Five workers were pressured by the manager of the

  • Super-exploitation under new act

    Super-exploitation under new actWELLINGTON — A scandal over the employment of a young worker at a takeaway food shop has demonstrated how vicious the Employment Contracts Act can be on young workers in isolated workplaces. It

  • NZ employers enjoy 'deregulated' labour market

    The New Zealand National government's Employment Contracts Act, which removed legal recognition from unions, became law on 15 May. From Wellington, IAN POWELL describes how workers are faring in the new situation. Prior to the

  • Protests shake NZ government

    WELLINGTON - New Zealand's largest protest for a decade stunned the National Party government on April 4. Around 100,000 people participated in nationwide demonstrations which were part of the Council of Trade Unions' April 3-9 week