Leave/Holidays

The CTU President Helen Kelly today told students at Otago University not to be surprised or sucked in if the Government’s proposal to allow employers to request a doctor’s note for any day of sickness is withdrawn or amended.

The Council of Trade Unions is calling on the Government to do the right thing by workers, pending its imminent decisions following the review of the Holidays Act.

The changes introduced by the Government today to legislation providing entitlements to workers for rest and meal breaks are unnecessary and ignore the basis of the current provisions, said CTU President Helen Kelly.

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 is calling on retailers to respect the trading restrictions in place over Easter, saying they are not an onerous requirement.

"We are calling on retailers to comply with the shop trading hours legislation which requires no trading on Good Friday and Easter Sunday for most retailers," CTU secretary Carol Beaumont said.

"Business New Zealand's criticism today that the Holidays Act is "not up to the job' exposes their desire to allow basic rights at work to be traded away," CTU president Helen Kelly said.

A $2,000 fine for an employer who hired an illegal worker and then ripped him off for seven years was pathetic and no deterrent to other employers determined to ignore the law, Council of Trade Unions president Ross Wilson said today.

An Auckland bakery owner received the fine after he admitted employing an illegal worker and seriously breaching the Holidays Act.