Today’s announcement on the Holidays Act Review by the Minister of Labour has elements that will reassure workers but will also raise concerns, said CTU Vice President Richard Wagstaff.

The Council of Trade Unions has today petitioned Parliament to send the Fire at Will Act to a select committee for proper consideration.

“National drove their employment law changes through Parliament under urgency last week when there was no compelling reason to do so,” CTU president Helen Kelly said.

“The Council of Trade Unions is willing to discuss with small businesses the challenges that they face but cannot support any law which removes the fundamental right of appeal against unfair dismissal,” CTU president Helen Kelly said today.

“The Minister of Labour has misled the public on the level of protections available to employees unfairly treated by the 90 Day Fire at Will Bill,” Council of Trade Unions President Helen Kelly says.

Parliament has just begun pushing through an amendment to employment law to remove unfair dismissal protections for a third of the workforce who are in small businesses.

“Choosing International Human Rights Day as the day to bring in new laws taking away New Zealanders rights to a fair hearing at work is an unfitting, sinister choice,” Council of Trade Unions president Helen Kelly said today.

Te Runanga o Nga Kaimahi Maori – CTU Runanga says there so many wrongs with rushing through the Fire at Will Bill, and acknowledges the Maori Party’s continued opposition to it.

"The new government should keep alive a proposal on guaranteed redundancy payments for workers," Council of Trade Unions president Helen Kelly said today.

“Labour’s industrial relations policy release today hits all the rights spots both in terms of dealing with the immediate implications of the current economic crisis but also in building future workplaces that are smart and productive, and are decent and fair places to work,” Council of Trade Unions president Helen Kelly said today.