Union activist talks about his year in the Philippines

November 2, 2010

The Spark November 2010

The New Zealand Government has just listed the Communist Party of the Philippines and its New People’s Army as terrorist organisations. The Spark talks to trade unionist, Luke Coxon, who has just spent a year in the Philippines.

Spark: Luke you took a year off work to do voluntary work in the Philippines. What drew you there?

Luke Coxon: I first went to the Philippines as a student activist in 1996. It really shaped my political outlook. Back then I already considered myself Marxist, but I was so inspired by the living movement in the Philippines that it left a lasting impression. I always wanted to go back and in 2007 was part of a fact finding group looking into human rights abuses there. I decided then to go back and volunteer for the KMU, the militant trade union federation.

Nestle picket

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Christchurch Meeting: Campaigning to increase the minimum wage

October 21, 2009

Join the 300In Christchurch, the Workers Rights Campaign is heavily-involved in collecting signatures for Unite trade union’s petition for a citizens-initiated referendum to increase the minimum wage. Come along and find out about the petition and the other activities of the Workers Rights Campaign.

Speaker: Byron Clark (WRC)

6PM, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28

WEA, 59 Gloucester St

(Map)

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Unite Union Campaign for a $15 Minimum Wage

August 23, 2009

Thursday 27 August 2009, 6pm
Tom Fordes Irish Bar and Political Museum
122 Anzac Ave, Auckland
Are you an Auckland student, campus worker or academic who wants to learn about or get involved in the $15 hr Campaign for a Living Wage? If so then come along to this public meeting to learn more about the campaign and why the Unite Union is making a stand against poverty wages in Aotearoa.

Hear about the campaign and the new progressive union movement from union leaders Mike Treen and John Minto.

450,000 people are paid less than $15 an hour. 100,000 workers are on the minimum wage of $12.50. That’s not enough to live on. We’re standing up against poverty wages and we’re going to need you.

It’s time to put workers first

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Christchurch Forum: Honduras – Democracy Under Attack

July 15, 2009

WP - Honduras Forum Poster - 27th July

7:00pm, Monday July 27
Workers Educational Association
59 Gloucester St (map)

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Picket this Wednesday (Christchurch): Real Jobs not McJobs

July 11, 2009

The government has made a deal with fast food giant McDonalds that will see young people receiving the unemployment benefit sent to jobs at McDonalds restaurants, and have their training subsidised by the taxpayer. Every beneficiary McDonald’s hires will get the company up to $16,000- the equivalent of about 8 months wages for a McDonalds worker.

Giving people low paying casualised jobs is not the solution to unemployment. This is not a scheme to help the unemployed, it is corporate welfare for a large corporation. As if paying minimum wage wasn’t enough for them, McDonalds gets the state subsidising its wage bill, and WINZ acting as its HR department – McDonalds has an annual staff turn over rate of over 100% because of its low wages and horrendous working conditions.

Come to the picket, let the government know we want REAL JOBS, NOT McJOBS and SOCIAL WELFARE NOT CORPORATE WELFARE
1pm, Wednesday (the 15th) outside WINZ High St, Christchurch Central

Organised by the Workers Rights Campaign.
Contact Byron byroncclark@gmail.com

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Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine Solidarity Campaign Launch

June 24, 2009

TShirt_Design_0

On Wednesday, July 1 at 7pm the Workers Party’s Christchurch branch will be hosting the local launch of our national campaign of material support for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The event will be taking place at the WEA, 59 Gloucester St.

The film “Leila Khaled: hi-jacker”, about one of the leading figures of the PFLP, will be shown and there will be a couple of short speeches about the situation in Israel/Palestine and a message from the PFLP will be read.

“This film about a Palestinian woman hijacker challenges our assumptions
about those who resort to violent means in response to oppression and gives us access to the politics of one of the most troubled regions of the twentieth century. It also complicates the current discourse on Islam and terrorism by its deliberation on the meanings of terms such as “terrorist”, interrogating and asking if one person’s terrorist could be another’s freedom fighter. Especially relevant in the context of today’s highly polarized conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine”

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Make National’s “Fire at Will” law a dead letter!

February 2, 2009

dalek

A forum to discuss plans for resisting the new 90-day legislation, the National-led government’s Xmas present to workers, is being held on Wednesday, February 4 at the WEA (Workers Educational Association) building, 59 Gloucester St, Christchurch, starting at 7pm.

Speakers include Andrew Mckenzie (Alliance; and a lawyer specialising in labour issues); Byron Clark (Workers Party; youth union activist); Fay Birch (cleaner and worker-advocate, specialising in personal grievance issues). Other union speakers have been invited.

The meeting is organised by the Workers Party and the Alliance Party.

All welcome!

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Christchurch WP forum: Solidarity with the Palestinians!

January 26, 2009

intifada1

The brutal Israeli invasion and occupation of Gaza has led growing numbers of people around the world to question whether Israel can ever act in any way other than what we’ve seen in Gaza in recent weeks. Come along to this month’s Workers Forum and hear about how the state of Israel was set up through the dispossession of the Palestinians and about their continuing struggle for liberation.

Speakers: Paul Hopkinson and Mike Walker

Wednesday 28 January, 7pm
Workers Educational Association, 59 Gloucester St (opposite City Art Gallery)

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Christchurch protest THIS SATURDAY against the killing in Gaza

January 14, 2009

orphanschoolmosque

- Israel out of Gaza!
- End the blockade!

PROTEST THIS SATURDAY 17th JANUARY 12PM – assembling outside the Canterbury Museum, Rolleston Avenue followed by a march to Cathedral Square.

Organised by Justice for Palestine, supported by the Workers Party.

Come along and join us in solidarity with the people of occupied Palestine – look out for the big red WP banner!

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Workers’ Resistance ’09

January 5, 2009

A Workers Party conference

Queen’s Birthday Weekend: 29-31 May
Wellington Central Library
Childcare provided

Further details TBA

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