EPMU criticised by miner’s wife
The Herald reports:
A West Coast miner’s wife has blasted union organisers, saying they failed to hold a secret ballot on striking, failed to keep members informed, and continued to collect their own pay while workers’ families struggle.
The woman, who declined to be named, was critical of the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU).
She said the union should have held a secret ballot on the Stockton strike, but instead asked miners for a show of hands.
Those who wanted to keep working had been afraid of being victimised if they didn’t put their hands up, she said.
The union had also failed to keep members well informed.
“My husband is only hearing things second-hand. They want you to go up to the picket line all the time to get information, but you’ve got to use petrol to get there.”
She also criticised the timing of the strike so close to Christmas. Her family would be unable to meet mortgage and rate commitments, let alone buy Christmas presents.
The union had also never told them they could claim a hardship allowance.
The woman said EPMU organisers should be refusing their own pay while coal miners were on strike, as they did in the old days.
Now that is a good idea. Solidarity with the comrades.
UPDATE: EPMU have e-mailed me a response:
The EPMU’s position on this is simple. The core allegation, that no secret ballot was held, is factually, verifiably false. There was a secret ballot at all sites as is union policy, and there are hundreds of miners who can vouch for that. Given the allegation is from an anonymous person who is not a member and would not have been entitled to vote in the meeting, people will have to judge the accuracy of her claims for themselves.The other allegations are more easily dealt with:
- Poor communication is a subjective issue, but I can tell you that I have personally sent out regular email updates to miners and there has been information at the picket line at all times. We don’t include miners’ wives on our email distribution lists.
- Union officials are paid during industrial disputes because that is their job. Paid officials don’t vote on industrial action and they do not share in any gains that result from it. Union officials do not stop their other duties when one site goes on strike. They are professionals hired by the membership to represent and advocate for them including during industrial disputes. They do, however, regularly donate to industrial hardship funds.
- The union hardship allowance is provided at the discretion of the national executive. This was opened to members last week.
Industrial action can be a highly emotional time, particularly for the families of striking workers. It’s understandable that a person might get the wrong end of the stick and lash out at the union. It’s just disappointing that during the journey of this story from the Westport News through NZPA, into the Herald and then onto your blog, no one decided to actually verify any of the claims before publishing them.
November 20th, 2009 at 11:13 am
He has a point. My old man was a union member (completely different industry) and he mentioned numerous times that he and his mates were often quite wary of their union reps’ actions…
November 20th, 2009 at 11:22 am
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. God that was funny.
November 20th, 2009 at 11:40 am
EPMU organisers forgoing their pay in solidarity with the members? Sounds like a potential Tui billboard to me
November 20th, 2009 at 11:55 am
Just goes to show the absolute bully tactics of unions. I just can’t for the life of me understand who would want to be a union member. The sooner these things are exposed for the communist scum they are, the better it would be for everybody. The days of employers abusing workers have long gone, unions are simple extensions of the labour party and serve no purpose but their own.
November 20th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
He has a point. My old man was a union member (completely different industry) and he mentioned numerous times that he and his mates were often quite wary of their union reps’ actions…
The union i was in had a policy that the officials were NEVER allowed to meet with managment alone because so many of them had done dodgy deals. There were more backhanders than a South Auckland house after dad came home from the pub.
November 20th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
^^^ “I just can’t for the life of me understand who would want to be a union member.”
Anyone who believes their union can negotiate better pay & conditions for them, than they could on their own. It happens!
November 20th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
At last – a wife who isn’t afraid to actually stand-up and tell the truth about the hardships and difficulties that families suffer because some union ‘clown’ has a personal agenda (and still receives HIS wages while his ‘brothers’ suffer). More power to the lady concerned.
November 20th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
I’ve helped some employees become union members – generally younger workers in retail shops whose bosses were exploiting them (in fact breaking the law). Some employees do benefit from union membership.
November 20th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
The last guy who invited my father to join a union showed up in a brand new BMW.
The second word my father used was “off”.
I’m a union member… because I have no choice and the money is automatically taken from em without my concent.
I too have employed the “off” word on ocasion.
November 20th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
“It’s just disappointing that during the journey of this story from the Westport News through NZPA, into the Herald and then onto your blog, no one decided to actually verify any of the claims before publishing them.”
Ooooooh. Welcome to the MSM, DPF.
November 20th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
My wife is a nurse, so is a union member. She has to really, to get the liability/indemnity insurance. For the rest they’re a waste of time – yes she does get nice glossy magazines that spout typical union rubbish, including articles on how ordinary nurses should be more vocal and lobby MPs etc. Like my esteemed colleagues above, “…off”.
November 20th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
I don’t believe that the issue was that the allowance hadn’t been opened, I believe it was that that fact hadn’t been communicated to members.
So clarity please: Was this fact extensively communicated to members or not?
Again, the issue was not whether there had been information at the picket line. The issue was that at least one miner had no direct communication from the union.
Can the union Guarantee that email updates were sent out to all affected miners? If not, can the union guarantee that steps were taken to ensure that this information was passed on to those whom were uncontactable via email?
It appears to me that the unions reply to the claims appears to skirt the real issues, and attempts to attack the complainants credibility. Nowhere do they address the possibility that their processes may need some analysis.
Absolutely poor show from the EPMU.
November 20th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
Union officials are “professionals”? Oh dear god that has to be the most hilarious thing I’ve heard in a very long time! Has the EPMU PR flunky decided to try for a career in Tui billboard marketing?
November 20th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
The EPMU are a bunch of rats, this site has been a thorn in the countries side for a long time and with the change of contractor Solid Energy have used this as an opportunity to clean out quite a few of the union scum nobody had the guts to take on before, good on them.
I am sure all the “strikers” appreciate the chance to kiss off a months wages one month out from christmas, I’m sure their kids will appreciate a water cracker with a candle in it for Xmas lunch.
One other fact comfortably ommited from the story is that the workers actually have to cough up the wages for the EPMU head stirrer to “represent” them over and above their union dues,
This strike was nothing to do with pay or conditions but was to put the EPMU back in a position of percieved power, and flex their muscles, Solidarity Brother.
Having worked on a site that the EPMU showed up at to try and garner membership many of us joined and regreted from day one, their promises are hollow, with their motto being “EPMU – Long on promise, Short on delivery”, and after seeing the treatment handed out to workers that refused to join the union at Stockton, the EPMU can rot in hell, it is just a trip to any KIwi dock in the 50′s.
November 20th, 2009 at 3:24 pm
who is in charge of the EMPU?
November 20th, 2009 at 6:39 pm
Oh that’s right.
when will the Nats grow some balls and revisit the contracts act. Best thing to happen ever to employer/employee relationships.
Plenty of minimum safeguards in law to stop people being exploited.
November 20th, 2009 at 7:43 pm
The EPMU are a bunch of limp dicks. We used them as our ” mouthpiece ” for a while ( aviation industry )…when we were having problems with management..in the end we told them to fark off ..they couldnt run a bath.
November 29th, 2009 at 11:26 am
I am the miners wife.My father was an organiser along with Bill Anderson in the 60s.When ever afirm that they were representing went out on strike they didnot collect wages until the strike was over.This union is not very family orientated,they do not think of the wives and children,as xmas comes closer,again Isay how do you tell the kids sorry no prezzies this year.My husband was back at work for three days now out again because one of the Huntly sites never got what they wanted.Being a thoghtful and caring person I would have stayed working and support the others financially so the kids didnot miss out.Hope the union has a big xmas stocking.