Ross Wilson, Dominion Post Column, 10 April 2006

Last month workers got a taste of what a National government might have dealt to them had it been elected last September. A bill introduced by the National Party would enable employers to sack workers without reason and remove personal grievance rights for all workers in their first three months of employment. National are calling this the Employment Relations (Probationary Employment) Amendment Bill. This is disingenuous. It is a complete removal of any employment rights for the first 90 days, not a genuine, agreed probationary period between an employer and employee as the Employment Relations Act already provides for.

Employers will be able to dismiss an employee for any reason they choose ? they need not provide any basis or reason for their decision. No matter how well an employee is performing, now matter how much effort they are putting in, if the bill becomes law an employer will be able to terminate their employment at any stage in the first three months.

The bill is truly the thin end of the wedge. Given the chance, National would also do away with the highly successful network of workplace health and safety reps, throw up the fourth week of annual leave for negotiation and abolish time and half for working on public holidays.

The 90 days bill is totally unjustified. Employers can already employ people on a casual basis. They can already employ people for a fixed term. And they can already start someone on a genuine probationary period, provided it is conducted and terminated fairly. The Employment Relations Act already provides for all of these things, and all National is doing is giving employers a free pass to sack workers at will.

The National Party approach to employment is at stark contrast to the present system we have. It is no coincidence that the Employment Relations Act has coincided with the strongest economic growth and the lowest unemployment in the OECD, and for the second year in a row the World Bank ranked New Zealand top out of 155 countries for ease of doing business. Companies are continuing to enjoy good profits and despite a slow down in the economy the labour market is predicted to remain tight for the foreseeable future.

The Council of Trade Unions argues for an investment approach - in skills and training, in capital, in sound health and safety procedures ? to move our country to a high wage, high value economy. The National Party bill is a direct challenge to this approach, and it is a strategy that failed the New Zealand economy in the 1990s and will fail it again now.

The key issue facing the labour market right now is how to attract workers with skills, not how to sack them.

On average we have about 6 job changes in our working lives. So 6 times in a lifetime, the average worker would be denied their employment rights, as we would all be turned into casual workers for 90 days.

Why would workers take the risk of a new job when they know that they will be without any employment rights for the first three months? The National bill will add to labour market rigidity, not ease it.

National has introduced this bill saying that the removal of personal grievance procedures for new employees will encourage employment growth. But unemployment has gone down substantially in the last ten years without such a provision. It is mischievous and untrue for the National Party to use this as a reason for the introduction of this bill.

Let's be perfectly clear ? the National bill is a major attack on the rights of all workers. It removes basic employment rights for every worker in our society. Although this bill will particularly affect short term, casual and seasonal workers it would apply to every single one of us each time we start a new job.

The bill is not conducive to building positive and trusting employment relationships in the workplace but instead would create a climate of fear and suspicion. We certainly hope that the select committee, presented with the evidence, will see fit to reject this bill, as it adds nothing to our workplace relations.