All the workers might walk out on you
The clothing workers at Cambridge Suits went on strike today. It is so great to see these women standing up Clothing workers used to have parity with fitters and turners, now they have to fight to keep start rates above the minimum wage. The workers at Cambridge are fighting for a decent pay-rise, but also fighting against claw-backs from the company, it wants to take away service leave and institute a second shut-down period.
If you saw China Blue, you shouldn't sit back and think how much greater we are in New Zealand. While the minimum conditions are better, petty, mean, penny-pinching, and stealing from the workers is common among New Zealand bosses as well.
I think Monica, a site delegate says it best:
I stood up at the union meeting and told the younger workers that I would be retiring in three years. I’ve never been on strike before but I told them now was the time to strike, that it’s their life and their future. That’s when they stood up and agreed that it was better to do something to wake the company up rather than to keep waking up without earning enough to survive.
Business owners learn to become stingy when they feel that their workers need the job badly. Workers should improve themselves and learn new skills to become more valuable to their employers and also to enhance their marketability. If you have the essential skills, you'll never run out of a job and you'll develop enough self-esteem to stand up for your rights.
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