Goff rewriting history

Compare these two transcripts. The first is from Radio Sport on 20 July 2010:

JAMIE MACKAY: Phil, you and I will agree to disagree on that one. What about cashing in some of your holidays for money?

PHIL GOFF: Well, I don’t have huge objections to that, as long as the decision is freely arrived at by the worker, and the worker is not pressured to do it. If you’ve got that safeguard in, then if somebody chooses to do that, then I’m quite relaxed about it

Pretty clear statement from Phil Goff. And one I agree with incidentially. But after his party president and EPMU boss asserted on The National that opposition to National’s policy to give workers a choice was core Labour party policy, Phil is trying to pretend he never said it.

Here’s what he then said on Q+A on 1 August 2010:

Paul Holmes: You stated that you were relaxed about selling, or the government’s plans to allow workers to sell the fourth week of their holidays. Um, you don’t stand by that any more, do you?

Phil Goff: No, what I said was of a range of things that the government is legislating for that will hurt the interests of ordinary working New Zealanders, that’s lower down my list of priorities

That might be what Phil wishes he said, and what he wants the unions to think he said, but it isn’t what he said. It’s a pretty blatant fib.

But the unions have spanked him and reminded him that they decide industrial relations policy, not the Leader.

I also like the EPMU talking points that giving workers a choice of cashing in one week’s leave is “hurting their interests”. God forbid workers have choices.