436 Grievance Cases out of 2 Million Workers Hardly a Gravy Train says CTU

"Of more than 2 million people currently in the workforce, the less than 500 personal grievance cases that ended up at the Employment Relations Authority last year hardly constitute a gravy train," acting CTU President Helen Kelly said tonight.

She was commenting on the Employer and Manufacturers Association (Northern) survey of personal grievance cases heard by the Employment Relations Authority in 2005.

"The EMA have listed the overall figures for personal grievances. What they won't discuss are the individual stories these numbers represent. One example out of many is the worker in a dairy in Invercargill who was paid below the legal minimum wage and subjected to systematic humiliation by her employer to the point where she could no longer continue there," said Helen Kelly.

"Workers that go to the Authority run the risk of costs being awarded against them if they don't win, and so it is not a decision that is taken up lightly, as the EMA suggest."

In many cases the compensation workers are awarded is minimal also - and does not go far enough to rectify the loss of economic security their employment provided, Helen Kelly said.

"The Employment Relations Act is working well, with the majority of workplace disputes being settled by use of mediation or at the workplace by unions - which costs workers and employers nothing," said Helen Kelly.