Employment Court Ruling Goes Further Than International Law

"A very conservative decision which disregards the international law on which the Employment Relations Act is based," Council of Trade Unions president Ross Wilson said today.Ross Wilson was commenting on the Employment Court decision in N Z Dairy Workers v N Z Milk Products (Fonterra) which struck down an agreed arrangement between the employer and the union requiring non union members to contribute to the cost of the wage increases and other benefits negotiated on their behalf.

"It seems a fair principle that employees who benefit from the work of the collective bargaining group should contribute to the costs of bargaining," Ross Wilson said.

"Such an agreement has been ruled to be entirely consistent with the International Labour Conventions on which the Employment Relations Act is based."

Ross Wilson said union members were sick of free loaders who picked up the benefits of the union's bargaining work.

"But the Employment Court has identified some technical barriers to giving full effect to the international law jurisprudence in New Zealand," he said.

"More than 300,000 union members will be disappointed by the decision."