Fire at Will Bill returns

In The Unionist this week: the return of the Fire at Will Bill.

Parliament pushes through Fire at Will Bill today

The National led government is minutes away from pushing the so-called Fire at Will Bill through under urgency in Parliament.

The removal of the right to appeal against unfair dismissal during the first 90 days of employment in small businesses will affect workers in 97 percent of enterprises. The CTU estimates about 108,000 workers are in their first 90 days of employment in such workplaces at any one time.
 
The Bill was first introduced into Parliament yesterday morning, and will be finished later today. Earlier in the week the new National government brought in other changes, which halve KiwiSaver employer contributions and put up taxes for low income workers

When the Bill was released to the public yesterday, CTU president Helen Kelly said that the Minister of Labour has misled the public on the level of protections available in the Bill to employees unfairly treated.

“Now the Government has finally tabled its Bill we can see that access to mediation and to be treated in good faith only apply to employees.  Of course, once someone is sacked they are not an employee, and the Bill makes it clear all rights to challenge the dismissal are removed.”

“The Bill is no more than what we always said it was – a breach of the fundamental right to be treated fairly at work.  It even goes as far to enable dismissal to occur without written notice and it removes the rights of these employees to get the reason for that dismissal put in writing.” 

CTU vice president Maori Sharon Clair said that the removal of human rights to any group at any time is never acceptable or justified.

“He aha te mea nui o te ao? He Tangata, He Tangata, He Tangata.  This wise council from our Tupuna does not say that the most important of all things in the world is wealth, individualism and power, it says simply and wisely the most important of all things in the world is people.  Workers are an asset, not an article of trade,” Sharon Clair said.

The Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union will today present an urgent petition to the Governor General, Anand Satyanand, to request he delays or refuses royal assent to the ‘fire at will' bill until it has been through the proper select committee process.  The union has been gathering signatures on worksites and via the Internet for the last day and a half and will be presenting the petition to the Governor General at Government House at 1pm today.

NZEI Te Riu Roa president Frances Nelson said: “Many teachers and principals move to gain promotion but this policy would create an environment which would hamper their career paths as they’d be reluctant to move to a new job where there was no certainty of employment for the first 90 days. It would make it even more difficult for small, rural or remote schools to attract experienced staff,” she says.

Meanwhile the Council of Trade Unions this week launched an email petition to the Prime Minister, for people to give their views on the package of laws introduced this week which take away work rights, halve KiwiSaver employer contributions and put up taxes for low income workers.

Tell the PM: Email the PM now on the Fire at Will Bill! 

KiwiSaver changes soften the blow; problems remain

Earlier in the week the Council of Trade Unions said that the Government’s consideration of changes to their KiwiSaver stance will soften the blow for low income workers, but fundamental problems still remain. 

“The CTU raised the whole issue of KiwiSaver with the Government post-election,” CTU Economist Peter Conway said.  “In particular we focussed on the disadvantage to low income workers who would get a cut in member tax credits whereas workers over $52,000 contributing at 4% would still be getting at least $20 a week tax credit.”

“The Prime Minister advised us that they were prepared to have another look at that issue and had already identified it as a possible anomaly.”

“The CTU has always supported a 2+2 option but not on the basis of removing the requirement for employers to match up to 4 per cent and the removal of employer tax credits.”

“The CTU has raised many other points of concern about KiwiSaver including the damaging impact on low income workers of the removal of employer tax credits which effectively subsidised employer contributions. This made it less likely that the employer would attempt to offset their KiwiSaver contributions against a wage increase.”

The CTU has commissioned actuarial advice that shows that under the National Party KiwiSaver policy pre-election a 30 year old on $50,000 today would save by age 65 years $199,099 under National Party proposals compared with $341,550 under the current KiwiSaver scheme, Peter Conway said.

Summer Holiday Book Give Away!

Congratulations to Jo-anne from South Otago and Owen from Auckland who each won a copy of Samuel Parnell: A Legacy.The book was written by labour historian Paul Corliss and is published in association with Unions Canterbury & Purple Grouse Press. 

If you missed out, copies available at cost [$10] plus actual postage, and orders can be emailed to pcorliss@paradise.net.nz or to Purple Grouse Press, 38 Belleview Terrace, Mt Pleasant, Christchurch.