National's Continued Attacks on Work Rights
The National Government has since 2008, just as they did in the 1990s, pushed through many changes to reduce your rights at work.
Employers can put a new worker on an agreement where there is no right of appeal whatsoever against unfair dismissal in the first 90 days. The employer does not have to give a reason. Even if the worker is dismissed for raising a concern about a safety issue, the worker cannot appeal against the dismissal. When this Government first introduced the law allowing small businesses to sack workers with no right of appeal in the first 90 days of employment, the Minister of Labour said (11th December 2008) that ‘the 90-day trial will provide real opportunities for people at the margins of the labour market’ and she said that included young people and the long term unemployed.’ In fact youth unemployment has gone up since then from 17.9 percent to 27.6 percent and the number of long term unemployed has gone up from 19,200 to 38,100 people.
All workers have fewer grounds to appeal against unfair dismissal. This is because the range of reasons for a justifiable dismissal has been extended. It is harder now to appeal against unfair dismissal. And also the National Government has removing reinstatement as a primary remedy. This allows employers to sack someone in the knowledge that, even if they are found to have unfairly dismissed the worker, they are extremely unlikely to have to re-employ them. They will therefore be more likely to dismiss and pay the monetary price if necessary.
The Government has also reduced union rights of access to workplaces. Union officials seeking to enter a workplace must obtain the employer's consent 'which should not be unreasonably withheld'. We have operated under such provisions in the past and it can mean union officials being effectively barred from access for extended periods, workers having to meet a union official in a room opposite the boss’s office, and widespread intimidation by anti-union employers.
The Government has weakened rights to sick leave, and propose to also make meal and refreshment breaks negotiable
Under extreme urgency and at the request of Warner Brothers from USA, the Government removed all employment rights for film industry workers – and has passed a law making them contract workers no matter if they are actually employees.
The last Labour-led Government strengthened work rights, added greater legal protection for vulnerable workers when a firm contracts out work or is sold to a new owner, increased holidays to a minimum of 4 weeks annual leave and required payment of at least time and a half for work on public holidays, introduced 14 weeks paid parental leave, increased the minimum wage by over 70 percent in 9 years, set up the Pay and Employment Equity Unit to address pay equity in the public sector, restored ACC to state ownership and re-introduced lump sum compensation, and passed a new law on workplace health and safety requiring employee participation.
The Labour led Government also created a right for workers who care for others to request flexible working hours, legislated for a minimum right to meal and refreshment breaks as well as breastfeeding breaks, lifted the maximum payable to a worker as a priority payment, including any redundancy owed, when their employer is insolvent from $6,000 to over $16,000 and worked out a more realistic assessment of seasonal workers’ income in terms of benefits and ACC payments.
But this positive approach to work rights shown by Labour and parties like the Greens, was abandoned by National. And not content with the attacks already unleashed on work rights in the last 3 years, the National Party have promised to push through more amendments to your rights at work and have said that unionists ‘will not be happy’ with these changes. And with the ACT Party led by Don Brash in cahoots with the National Party, expect even more extreme policies to be advocated.
