March, 2004

The lowest-paid workers will find they have a bit extra in their pay packet as well as better holiday entitlements from tomorrow, Council of Trade Unions secretary Carol Beaumont said today.

Business is losing credibility with scaremongering attacks on employment law changes that are needed to protect vulnerable workers, writes Darien Fenton, national secretary of the Service & Food Workers Union.

New legislation passed by Parliament last night will improve protection for workers when a business goes bust, Council of Trade Unions economist Peter Conway said today.
The changes introduced through the Companies Amendment Bill and the Insolvency Amendment Bill (arising from a private member's Bill on the status of redundancy) did two very important things for workers, he said.

They lifted the present cap of $6,000 on a worker's entitlements in an insolvency situation to $15,000, and included redundancy payments within that cap for the first time.

"The cap had not been increased for 15 years," Peter Conway said. "Many workers who have negotiated redundancy agreements are angry when they see it is worth nothing in an insolvency situation.

"These Bills rectify that anomaly."

The main message from the New Zealand Herald's special report for business is that big business is missing the big picture, Council of Trade Unions president Ross Wilson said today.

A visiting labour "expert" has little understanding of the situation of
thousands of low-paid workers who face losing their jobs when the work they
do is transferred to another employer, Council of Trade Unions president
Ross Wilson said today.

The Council of Trade Unions has written to political and military leaders in Burma to protest against the death sentence being passed on nine workers on trumped-up charges of treason, CTU president Ross Wilson said today.

The number of working people taking part in industry training means that economic growth through improving skill is well on the way to becoming a reality, Council of Trade Unions secretary Carol Beaumont said today.

New Zealand now has "no fault" accident compensation, 30 years after the world-leading scheme was established, Council of Trade Unions president Ross Wilson said today. ACC Minister Ruth Dyson has announced a revamp of the medical misadventure provisions. Medical misadventure will be replaced by a new category called treatment injury which will remove the requirement to prove a medical accident before a patient is entitled to ACC cover.

Ross Wilson, who is a former ACC deputy chairperson, said the excellent consultation process by Ruth Dyson and officials has produced a result which removes an anomaly in the scheme, and has the potential to improve patient safety and speed up the claims process.

"It is a welcome change, after the punitive ACC legislation of the 1990s, to see improvements to the scheme which reflect the original concepts," Ross Wilson said.

"There is still some way to go in improving the design and performance of ACC but this change is an important step forward.

"As we approach the 30th anniversary of our ACC scheme on April 1, 2004, it is a signal that the political leadership of ACC is on good hands," he said.

"The Law Commission proposal to demote the Employment Court will legalise employment disputes and increase the cost of justice for workers," Council of Trade Unions president Ross Wilson said today.

The prospect of better income for workers is a key motivator for improved productivity, Council of Trade Unions president Ross Wilson said today.
He was commenting on the Government Productivity Working Group made up of representatives from Business NZ, the CTU, Government and other members which meets for the first time today.

"After the experiences of the 1980's and 1990's workers are understandably suspicious of words like "productivity" and "growth," Ross Wilson said. "It usually meant cuts in jobs and conditions for workers to increase profits for the employer.

"For the CTU the Productivity Group is about building workers' skills and productive workplace relationships," he said "And that must include discussion about how productivity growth will be shared."

Ross Wilson said that the CTU has already had a very useful dialogue with Business NZ on a range of issues such as the need for investment in quality infrastructure, skill development, and improvements in workplace organisation.

"The CTU will continue to engage constructively," he said. "It will be important for the group to come up with practical suggestions that will make sense to workers and businesses throughout New Zealand.

"It will be vital that workers have confidence in this process," Ross Wilson said. "The negative business reaction to tweaking of employment laws doesn't help."

Extensions to paid parental leave mean more women workers will be able to afford to take time off to look after a new baby, Council of Trade Unions secretary Carol Beaumont said today.

"Fair pay, decent work, affordable, quality childcare and improvements to the student loan scheme outlined in the Action Plan for New Zealand Women will make a real difference for women workers," Council of Trade Unions vice-president Helen Kelly said today.

"Business organisations are doing their members and New Zealand a disservice with unjustified scaremongering about the Employment Relations Act amendments," Council of Trade Unions president Ross Wilson said today.