90-day trial scheme dumps 23 per cent of new workers

Rachel* was proud of her self taught administration and accounting skills. At 52, she had been in her last job for 30 years and had always been well liked by her bosses and co-workers.

That’s why it came as a shock when she was fired 14 days after starting a new job.

Fallen cyclists to be honoured with slow and silent ride

A peloton of road cyclists riding at less than 20km/h is a rare sight to behold.
Yet on two nights this week cyclists from around Auckland will take part in the Ride of Silence – a slow cycle procession to honour cyclists who have been killed or injured on the road.
Kiwi cyclists are kicking off the [...]

Environment groups gather forces for anti-mining march

A coalition of environmental groups is hitting the streets of Auckland this Saturday to speak out against Government plans to mine New Zealand’s conservation estate.
The protest is part of rising opposition to a Government proposal to extract mineral resources from public land, including tourist hot-spots such as Great Barrier Island and the Coromandel Peninsula.
The 7000 [...]

MIT rethinks ban on democracy

Manukau Institute of Technology has reversed a decision to ban union activity on campus this week after a challenge from activists.
A group of around 20 students, protestors, and members of the low-wage union Unite travelled to MIT last Thursday in defiance of the institute’s ban on political activity.
Earlier this month Unite organiser Joe Carolan received [...]

Auckland protestors tell Irish Health Minister to ‘go home’

A small group of protesters celebrated St Patrick’s Day by gathering at the Irish Consulate in Auckland to express outrage at the Irish Health Minister’s visit to New Zealand.
Mary Harney has been under fire in the Republic of Ireland, where it was last week revealed that 58,000 x-rays over four years went unread by radiologists [...]

Protestors’ shocking stand against whaling

Anti-whaling demonstrators distributed packages of dripping whale meat outside the Japanese Embassy in Auckland last Friday afternoon to raise awareness of ongoing whaling in the South Pacific.
Protestors dressed as scythe-wielding scientists hacked at a 6m inflatable whale while others handed out mock butcher cuts drenched in red paint.
John Darroch, of the Sea Shepherd Supporters, said [...]

Cleaners rally for a Clean Start

Auckland’s cleaners gathered in Aotea Square this month to protest bad working conditions and low pay.
The rally, on May 14, marked the third anniversary of the Clean Start campaign, which advocates for the rights of New Zealand’s commercial cleaners.
Labour MP Darien Fenton strongly supports the cleaners’ network, but has no confidence the National government will give the [...]

SAFE speeds up pigs campaign with digital technology

The speed of digital media has allowed a “freedom for pigs” campaign to quickly raise public awareness of intensive pig farming in New Zealand.

SAFE (Save Animals from Exploitation) received unprecedented public support following the exposure of squalor-like farming conditions on TVNZ’s Sunday programme on May 17.

Director of SAFE Anthony Terry says digital [...]

Students get ready to march against super city

Auckland students are being called on to revive their role as “freedom thinkers” and oppose the super city proposal at a city-wide hikoi on May 25.
At a student hui on Monday, hikoi organiser Ngarimu Blair raised issues such as the threatened loss of grassroots representation for Maori and smaller communities like students, and the need [...]

A 20-year wait to be rescued

Invisible Children wait in the rain to be rescued.

Hundreds of teenagers kicked off a worldwide protest, The Rescue, by camping out in the rain at Auckland’s Aotea Square on Anzac Day.
The event, organised by The Invisible Children group, aimed to draw attention to the fate of children in Uganda who are abducted to [...]