zeal dispute sorted out

in case you missed them, i had a couple of posts up at the hand mirror on friday, one about the national government preventing the leader of the opposition visiting our local firestation, for no good reason that i can see. the other is about proposed cuts to preparatory courses for university entrance, specially designed for those who have not managed to complete the NCEA qualification.

in good news today, the zeal 320 dispute (whereby an air nz subsidiary were paying lower wages to zeal workers than air nz workers) has been satisfactorily settled. you can get more information here:

The 15 month deal achieves a number of substantial improvements including a 3.95% pay increase, a 6.7% increase in a tour of duty allowance after 12 months, introduction of a new guaranteed allowance of either $149 or $186 a fortnight based on last year's value of an at-risk bonus scheme, a $1000 up-front payment and the addition of a number of non-financial clauses.

A working group to look at hours of work and rostering will also be established.

accidental death cover

well, you learn something new every day. today i learnt about ACC's accidental death cover. i knew that ACC provided cover for medical expenses and in some cases weekly compensation for loss of income to the injured person. but i did not know that they provided money to the spouse and children of persons who died from accidental death.

the definition of accidental death includes murder, suicide, and death resulting from an injury as a result of medical treatment. in these cases, the spouse and children are entitled to:

• a funeral grant (currently sitting at just over $5,000)
• survivor’s grants for surviving spouses (lump sum of a few thousand), children and other dependants (can't remember the exact amounts here)
• lost earnings compensation for surviving spouses, children and other dependants (weekly compensation based on the past year's earnings, if the person had ACC workplace cover at the time of death)
• childcare for the deceased’s children (a weekly amount of over $100 per week for the first child, up until the child is 18).

some of this cover is available if the death occurs overseas, as long as you are still a nz resident or working for a nz company and paying tax in nz.

i guess this stuff seemed more relevant to me because someone i know of committed suicide last week, leaving behind dependants. apparently this stuff about accidental death cover is not widely known, and some people may be missing out on the support they need. so i thought i'd do my little bit to publicise it.

still here, still posting...

i posted at the hand mirror yesterday, with some further updates and links on the ACC funding for sensitive claims counselling, along with some other bits and pieces. there have been further updates to the story, with the government backing down on some of the proposed changes. further questioning in parliament today can be found here, where the hon nick smith now assures us that "no final decisions have yet been made". the pressure definitely needs to be kept on to ensure the correct final decisions are made.

also, i'll have a post up tomorrow morning at the hand mirror about some important action points around pay equity, the report on the cartwright inquiry, and the EPMU campaign supporting telco technicians.

fasting is going well this year. i'm not finding it too draining, possibly because the days are shorter or maybe because i've been a little more organised and inventive around fast and healthy food (and sometimes not so healthy, but i try). i can't believe that 5 days have gone already!

who'll be caring for you?

i've posted at the hand mirror about a report into immigration requirements when it comes to care for the elderly.

also of interest is this article from last year about restrictions on religious practice in the xinjiang province of china, in the lead up to maori tv's screening of the documentary on uighurs next week (1 september).

a month to look forward to

well ramadan has started tonight. the islamic calendar works differently for days as it does for months. it's a lunar calendar, so 10 days shorter than the solar one. also, the new day doesn't start at midnight, it starts at sunset.

ramadan is not only a month where we don't eat or drink during daylight hours, but it's also a time for extra spiritual reflection and prayer. so the beginning of ramadan is marked by extra prayers at night, and i went to the mosque to join in with these. and nothing can compare with the sense of absolute peace and contentment that comes with this experience.

so when i was at a dinner earlier in the evening, and i told someone (not a muslim) that ramadan had started, i had to laugh at his respnse of "oh no!". i'm like "what do you mean by oh no?" and he replied "ramadan frightens me, having to spend the day without eating". so i told him how muslims look forward to ramadan, and it's because the month means so much more than just not eating.

this post i wrote last year pretty much covers what ramadan means to me. and like last year, i'll be posting less frequently, depending on what my energy-levels are like late in the evening. in the meantime, ramadan mubarak to all my muslim friends out there.

why do we need a new clinical framework?

i've posted at the hand mirror today, about changes by ACC to the clinical framework for counselling victims of sexual abuse. it's not good.

perspectives

have been meaning to write something substantial, but unfortunately other things keep intervening. one of those other things has been an interesting yet stressful discussion around postings to AEN. it's so hard to create spaces where different cultures can interact and raise issues, in a manner that's respectful enough that people feel safe to engage. and it's especially difficult when some of the issues raised can be particularly touchy.

i'm not one to say that touchy subjects should never be raised. indeed, they do have to be raised in order for stereotypes to be challenged and alternative perspectives to be given an airing. but on the other hand, if it's done the wrong way, then the challenge never happens and the alternative perspective doesn't appear.

the problem with belonging to a minority group is that the sources of attack are varied and constant. they come from media messages, insults hurled at you from the street, careless comments in the tearoom, interactions with shop assistants, and so on. in so many big and little ways, your points of difference are highlighted and sometimes thrown in your face. the pressure to conform is constant, the punishment for deliberately choosing not to conform can be harsh.

but the trouble is this. each individual who says something to me, well that's the only thing of the kind they've said that week, or maybe that month. but for me, it may be the 10th thing of a similar nature i've had to deal with that week. by the time i come to the 10th instance, my patience is gone, i've had enough and i'm pretty ready to lash out. the other person then wonders why i'm so damned sensitive and so easily offended.

so how, when i get to the 10th instance, do i patiently explain yet again the error and the misconception on the part of the person i'm interacting with. how do i explain the reality of my life, and how it is to live with this kind of thing all. the. time. and how do i know that the other person even wants to hear it. they think they're just making a joke, or pointing out (what seems to them to be) an obvious truth.

yup, sometimes it's not easy talking across different cultures. and it's really hard to set any kind of guidelines or boundaries as to what's acceptable and what isn't. so i've spent some time on email discussions, don't know if i've achieved anything at all. but i do have the satisfaction of knowing that i said what needed to be said.

gamble free day

it's late, i'm tired, so cutting and pasting again! thought you might be interested in this from the problem gambling foundation:

Get a discount voucher from our website (www.pgfnz.org.nz) and you can receive 10% dining discount at the participating restaurants (137 restaurants in the five major cities in NZ) on Gamble Free Day 1st Sept 2008.

In 2004, the 1st day of September was proposed as the national day of action against gambling harm and “Gamble Free Day” was launched. This happened because during the past couple of decades, New Zealand ’s gambling industry has grown rapidly and this has caused considerable damage to individuals, families and our communities.

Did you know:
· Everyday in NZ $5.5 million is lost on gambling
· There are 14 convictions relating to gambling everyday
· Among those who seek help, the average amount of money lost from Asian clients is 7 times that of other ethnic clients

The purposes of this campaign launched by Problem Gambling Foundation, Asian Services are:
1) Raising the awareness of gambling harms in our communities
2) Promoting healthy entertainment & activities for individual / families / friends to participate in!

We encourage people to rather spend their time and money on family/friend’s gathering instead of gambling.

Enjoy a happy meal on Gamble Free Day!


and also, this piece by anne else regarding a new book on the cartwright inquiry at national women's hospital well worth a read.

beauty promo

i've posted over at the hand mirror, about a beauty promotion by life pharmacy.

disability support workers awareness week

whew, i'd like to know what a quiet weekend feels like, i've almost forgotten. but at least i got the important chores of groceries and clothes-washing done, so that means i'm ahead for the week!

yesterday was the mosque open day in hamilton (part of islam awareness week), and the numbers were lower than in previous years. i guess that's because it's not such a novelty anymore. there used to be this notion that mosques were closed and mysterious places where strange rituals happened. but now that the open days have been happening every year, people have realised that they are places of worship just like any other. the fact is that mosques are open for everyone any day of the year, but i know people like to have an invitation before they step into a place that they don't see as their own. i can understand that.

still, it's an event that our community enjoys. we had games, videos playing in the mosque, displays, henna, and the sharing of food. i think however that the kilburnie mosque in wellington would probably take the prize for the most fun open days. wish i could have been in two places at once!


if you've read my blog for any length of time, you'll know i'm a big fan of maori tv. i really enjoy the foreign language films, and the documentaries they screen are pretty good as well. last week i watched part of one about media coverage of the o j simpson trial which was refreshing if only because it provided a perspective that we rarely get to see here.

now they are in discussion with officials from the chinese embassy because the station plans to broadcast a documentary about uighur people, told from the perspective of that population. it will be screening on 1 september.


and finally, i hadn't realised that this week was disability support worker awareness week. it's pretty much over now, but these are low-paid workers doing a crucial job, and they certainly deserve recognition:

Every day more than 110,000 disabled New Zealanders rely on disability support workers for medical support, meals, personal care and help the home.

Disability support workers provide support 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for people with disabilities who live in community houses. They also visit homes and support people incapacitated by a disability. Their work enables people with disabilities to be as independent as possible.

This is demanding work that requires a wide range of skills and knowledge but in takes place out of public view.

For this complex and demanding work they are paid as little as $14.20 an hour, only marginally above the adult minimum wage of $12.50 an hour.

This is due primarily to a lack of funding from the government and the complicated and confusing way that the disability sector is funded.