John Key declares war on the Unions

Changes to labour laws outrageous say unions
Union leaders have reacted angrily to plans they say will curb access to workplaces and hit vulnerable employees by making it easier to sack them without reason. The Government is tipped to announce big changes to labour laws this weekend, including extending the 90-day probation period to all workers starting a new job and requiring unions to gain employers' consent before entering workplaces.

Well, well, well - let's dump the 'National as moderate' game now shall we? Matthew Hooton's big blue tent strategy, the idea that National could become the new mainstream encompassing more than just angry beige people has just fallen apart with this declaration of war on the Unions.

The argument for 90 day right to sack powers was that a small company needed to work closely with everyone and a 'bad worker' could throw that out of synch, but expanding it to all work places makes that line of original defence by the right on this issue empty.

So shutting unions out of work places, shutting down education programmes, selling off a weeks holiday and expanding the right to sack to all the bosses, John Key just declared war on the Unions.

Why?

The Auckland Business mafia who bank rolled the last election want to be told as they gear up to fund raise for next years election that Key is hard right, declaring war on the Unions mid electoral term is rousing news for the captains of industry already feeling plump from John Key's tax cut for the top 2%.

Union bashing is easy, the real challenge for the Business Roundtable is finding a way to sell privatization of social services as a social good. Their success is dependent on zero policy scrutiny by our crime dominated media and the popularity of John Key.

John Key is so popular, he could eat a kitten live on air, and the public would blame the kitten for being delicious.

The problem for the Bussiness Roundtable is what happens when Key's credibility gap starts damaging polling support. Key's popularity will evaporate with Kevin Rudd like proportions if his optimism starts looking like vacant aspiration. 3700 jobs were promised from the bike lane, only 138 have actually been created. Key said after the tax cuts and gst rise NZers would still be better off, well that optimism is going to be cold comfort for many NZers come October, who for the first time in their memory, won't be feeling middle class.

If that happens the trust credit card on Key will get maxed out leaving any Business Roundtable inspired privatization of social services, on the dole without a case manager.

The response to a global economic collapse caused by neo-liberal free market ideology, is not to implement those very same neo-liberal free market ideologies domestically!