Vol. 72/No. 5      February 4, 2008

The commission, an agency of the U.S. colonial government in that island nation, said when union delegates held a strike vote last November, the federation violated labor rules that prohibit public employees from striking.

The commission also demanded that the union provide a list of the more than 1,000 delegates who participated in the vote. It banned the current union leadership from representing the 42,000 teachers in the FMPR for the next five years.

The decertification has effectively ended contract negotiations between the union and the government. The Education Department said teachers will have to elect another representative to take part in contract negotiations, which could push the signing of a contract to 2009. Teachers have been working without a contract since 2006.

Among the demands of the union are an 18 per cent wage increase, lowering to 15 the number of students per classroom, and improvements to school facilities.

—Róger Calero

Health-care workers strike
in New Zealand
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand—Caregivers, nurses, and their supporters picketed January 10 outside Brackenridge Estate, a home for the mentally and physically impaired here, as part of a two-day strike for higher wages and better conditions. Workers held hand-made placards and gave out flyers to a small number of strikebreakers, urging them not to cross the picket line.

Organized by the New Zealand Nurses Organization (NZNO) and the National Union of Public Employees (NUPE), the 140 union members at Brackenridge rejected a wage offer that was tied to cuts in training, maintenance, and weekend outings for residents. NZNO organizer Steve Howard said that “Workers were offended by this offer.”

NUPE has been in negotiations since September, and has called on the health ministry to increase funding to ensure patients receive adequate care. The union is also demanding overtime pay and improved pay for weekend shifts.

“It’s a hard job and we just ask for compensation for the hard work we do,” said union delegate Wendy Johnston.

—Ruth Gray  
 
 
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