"The changes this bill heralds, are revolutionary; do destroy the traditional relationship between workers, unions and employers; are the beginning of a spiral of poverty for many in this country."
#AngelaFoulkes, CTU, speaking about the bill that became the Employment Contracts Act in 1991. Quoted in Juggernaut 2, ep 2;
"NZ unions once had a privileged legal status by international comparison. Now they've got fewer rights than any country in the OECD."
Juggernaut 2, ep 2
https://thespinoff.co.nz/podcasts/juggernaut
Not sure if this quote is from Helen Kelly or her biographer Rebecca Macfie. Nor if it's from the ECA era, or still current.
But keep in mind the OECD includes the US. At some point since 1991, workers had less protection of our rights to organise unions in NZ, than in the US.
(1/2)
