BY JOAN SHIELDS
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand - Up to 3,000 workers took part in a protest action here December 17. The union march and rally was organized to oppose proposals being considered by the National Party-New Zealand First coalition government to amend the Holidays Act and Employment Contracts Act.

Many workers carried hand-painted signs declaring "Hands Off Our Holidays!" and, in a message to Prime Minister Jennifer Shipley, "SHIPley Out!" Union banners on the protest included the Meat Workers Union; Rail, Maritime and Transport Union; Hotel and Hospital Workers; National Distribution Union; Nurses Organisation; Finsec, the bank workers' union; and several teachers unions.

Some community groups participated, including students, parents, and teachers from Aranui High School. They circulated a petition opposing a Ministry of Education plan to remove 10 relocatable classrooms from the school. Several flags representing tino rangatiratanga (Maori sovereignty) fluttered in the air.

The Holidays Act guarantees workers 11 paid public holidays a year and three weeks' annual leave. The changes being considered by the government would allow employers to replace some or all of these holidays with cash payments. Part-time workers would be classified as casual employees with no holiday entitlements.

Other changes being considered include abolishing or reducing the powers of the Employment Court, and amending the Employment Contracts Act to weaken personal grievance rights. About 4,000 personal grievance cases are brought before the Employment Court each year.

Explaining why he was at the rally, Graham Beswick, a lamb boner and member of the Meat Workers Union, said, "If this act goes through it will affect everyone in New Zealand, not just workers. This government in power now just wants to bulldoze things through, whatever the people think."

At a number of worksites unions organized buses to bring workers to the rally. Eight busloads of Meat Workers Union members came from three local meat-packing plants and a tannery.

Feltex textile workers, Ansett airport engineers (machinists), and workers from Gough, Gough and Hamer, who manufacture earth-moving equipment, also came on union buses.

A young meat worker on one of the buses, Jason Driscoll, exclaimed: "They're stealing our holidays! I'd like to see [Minister of Labour] Max Bradford down here explaining to us how it's going to benefit us!"

His friend Grant Ross agreed. "The worst affected will be workers who don't have any union protection," he said. "It's all about maximizing profits."

A rally of about 160 people also took place the same day in the nearby township of Kaiapoi. Many of those taking part came from local engineering firm Patience and Nicholson. A series of similar protests have taken place throughout the South Island, including in smaller provincial centers. Four hundred people marched December 16 in Timaru city, 500 in Blenheim December 18, close to 300 in Nelson December 13, and 200 in Richmond the previous week.

On the west coast about 100 people rallied in Greymouth December 18 and 200 in Westport. On December 19 meat workers from the Fairton and Canterbury Meat Packers plants joined a 1000-strong march on Shipley's electorate office in Ashburton in south Canterbury. A resolution protesting the attacks on the Holidays Act and other industrial legislation was posted through the door of Prime Minister Shipley's office.

In the capital city of Wellington more than 2,000 workers converged on Parliament December 10. Seafarers, auto workers, government workers, and many others streamed off buses into parliament grounds for the lunchtime protest. In Auckland there was no central action organized to protest the proposed changes to the Holidays Act. A number of smaller rallies were held in different suburbs, with some actions limited to union officials and other activists distributing information leaflets.

At a few worksites, unions arranged buses and time off work to enable workers to attend the rallies, while at other plants workers had to organize themselves individually if they wished to participate.

Five hundred workers turned out on their lunch break to attend a lively rally in the industrial suburb of Avondale December 9 and a rally in the Penrose industrial area December 12 attracted 40 workers.

Several hundred workers took part in a lunchtime march and rally in south Auckland December 18. Most came on buses from Kiwi Packaging and the Nissan auto plant, with a contingent of orderlies from Middlemore Hospital also present. Unions represented were Engineers, National Distribution, and Service and Food Workers.

Three young workers from Masport said they had seen the notices about the rally at work and had arranged time off work so they could attend.

Bernadine Tito, one of the Nissan workers present, explained that the company held a meeting at the plant that morning to announce it would be closing. Workers would be given six months' notice once a closure date was set. She stressed the importance of defending the right to holidays, "or we'll be overworked and stressed out. All centers around New Zealand should do what we're doing here, and it will have an effect on the government."

Joan Shields is a member of the Meat Workers Union at Alliance Sockburn. Janet Roth, a member of the Service and Food Workers Union, and Engineers Union members Felicity Coggan and Malcolm McAllister also contributed to this article.  
 
 
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