A Christchurch business has rejected union claims it told staff to come to work on the day of the Canterbury earthquake.
Unite Union alleged Garden City Bowl staff had been told in "no uncertain terms" to come to work after the 7.1-magnitude quake.
"Staff came in under duress and didn't feel very confident. The company realised they weren't going to make any money that day and sent the workers home. For that whole weekend they received no pay for lost hours," Nelson-Christchurch Unite organiser Matt Jones said.
However, Julie Williamson, group human resources manager, denied those claims.
She said workers were advised not to come to work on Saturday, other than two technical staff who were paid.
Williamson said staff scheduled to work on Saturday were paid and "given the required period of notice" the centre would not open on Sunday.
"Full-time staff were paid for the Saturday and Sunday, with Sunday's scheduled hours being taken as leave. This arrangement is in compliance with employment contracts and the general provisions of the relevant employment law," she said.
We reckon that Comrade Jones should have got his ducks in a row before rushing off to the media to get his anti-employer diatribe published. Then again, why would we be surprised that a trade union official let the facts get in the way of a good story?
Sorry Matt, but it seems that the shame's on you!
UPDATE: Self-described anarchist organisation Beyond Resistance supported the Tour of Shame. We reckon that tells you all you need to know about Matt Jones ... their blog proclaims:
Beyond Resistance is a collective of revolutionary class struggle anarchists in Otautahi/Christchurch, Aotearoa, who have come together in the hope of creating a coherent and organised anarchist presence in our area. Our name reflects our intended approach to struggle — a visible and constructive anarchism that goes beyond mere reaction, both in the workplace and the community. We host a number of events such as film nights and discussion forums, encourage and create spaces for children’s participation in all events, and support various struggles effecting our communities.
'Nuff said!
13 comments:
Isn't a "coherent and organised" anarchist group a bit of a contradiction of terms.
What workingman said.
While you concern yourself with what other blogs do and do not say, the people who read this one are more concerned about the fact that you are a hypocritical christian. Get your own house in order my fellow brother in christ, before you besmirch the views of others. Holier-than-though-conservatives are anathema to the advancement of humankind.
Isn't "anarchist organisation" an oxymoron?
This reader thinks our host's belief system is utterly irrelevant to the good sense of his opinions. He was well on the way to convincing me that believing in god wasn't a mental illness, OLO has set that back by a few millenia I think...
"Holier-than-though-conservatives are anathema to the advancement of humankind."
Credulous, idealistic lefties are far far worse.
Ther are some, for example that think that 'Anarchistic Communisim' could be something more that a total, utter failure.
EXOCET
Don't judge Christians by OLO James; most of us are perfectly sane!
Mumble mumble...talking snakes...mumble mumble :D
Couple of things here folks:
a) the company has forced staff to take annual leave for the Sunday they were meant to work (it's in the very Press article quoted here). This means instead of being paid for a loss of earnings, they are forced to use leave they've earned themselves — leave already owed to them. You don't have to be an anarchist or a christian to see that that is simply unfair.
b) Garden City Bowls is owned by a multi-national corporation. They can afford to pay their staff, yet they haven't (while other large employers, such as Hoyts, have). They've stuck to the very bare minimum and passed the cost onto an already low paid staff. Again, does that sound reasonable?
c) organised anarchism is not an oxymoron. If you expect people to understand your own belief system then at least show the same respect and understand the belief systems of others. At least read the site you link to, or refer to the rich history of successful, organised anarchism readily available (such as wiki).
I could go on but until the debate on this site becomes more tolerant then I'll leave it at that.
Jared
Hi,
Many of the commenters here show that they have absolutely no idea about what anarchism means. For a recent (in the historical sense) example, you would do well to study the Spanish Civil War of 1936-39, particularly the involvement of the CNT and FAI, who together had over three million members at their peak.
Anarchistic ideas have been around for a long time, and many very different groups of people consider themselves anarchists. Karl Marx was influenced by many ideas which stem from prior writings by anarchist thinkers. There are even Christian Anarchists!
Know your history; to regurgitate hackneyed, incorrect, preconceived ideas without thought serves no useful purpose.
Besides, with regard to Garden City Bowl, what company with any PR-sense is going to openly recant or say "Yes, we took the opportunity to screw our employees out of a few dollars during a major disaster" with a news camera present? Of course they'll deny it. It is interesting to note that the more media-savvy owners of five of the local Subway restaurants - who were guilty of essentially the same behavior - decided to pay their employees what they were owed, thereby avoiding a documented/televised picket.
There was also a protest at a local security company, where it had been demanded that employees return to work soon after the earthquake, despite the building not having been declared safe. Many of the employees were in understandably in distress, as the scale of the earthquake was beginning to sink in. Some had no choice but to bring their distraught children with to work with them.
The employees at these businesses were shown a total lack of compassion, care and respect - values that all Christians are taught to uphold.
JL
Touched a nerve I2, well done.
touched a nerve? no, but a lot of anarchists now know you exist... we'll be back :)
@ Alex - so it would seem!
@ Anon - you're always welcome here; we may have to agree to disagree, but debate is healthy.
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