Advisory: BusinessNZ appearance at select committee - Employment Bill

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Chief Executive Kirk Hope and Employment Manager Paul Mackay will present BusinessNZ's oral submission on the Employment Relations Amendment Bill:- Education and Workforce select committee, Select Committee Meeting Room 1, Bowen House - 10.00 - 10.30 am Wed 9 May

BusinessNZ submission summary is attached.Oral submission summary:EMPLOYMENT BILL - UNDUE POWER TO UNIONSEmployers are concerned about this Bill because it would remove industrial harmony from the workplace, giving undue power to unions and harming the interests of working people and the businesses that employ them.

The Bill contains numerous rule changes that would together bring an atmosphere making it harder for businesses to grow and employ people, and harder to maintain industrial harmony.

Among the rule changes -- The companies that employ most people would not be allowed to use 90-day trials- Breaks for everyone would have to be at the same time unless employees and unions agreed otherwise- Unions could come into the workplace any time they wanted without employer approval, even if there were no union members on staff- If a union wanted a company to join a multi-employer collective, it would be compulsory for the company to join and to reach agreement on the union claims, even for a small business- Companies would not be permitted to offer pay or conditions to an employee on an individual agreement that are different from those offered to an employee on a collective agreement, unless unions agreed- Rules that would make it harder for businesses to restructure- And numerous other changes

These rules would make it harder to grow business and employ more people, and bring a more conflicting working environment.

These changes are not just a reinstatement of rules that existed in the past. They contain differences that combine together in a new way, giving more union power than in the past.

These changes would also pave the way for further restrictions in future. A planned second wave of employment changes later this electoral term will include so-called ‘fair pay’ agreements, to require the same rates of pay across occupations. This is a form of centralised wage bargaining that we have not seen in decades.

This legislation forces a collective approach that would be negative for working people, businesses and the economy at a time when we need more flexibility and collaboration.BusinessNZ recommends the Employment Relations Amendment Bill should not proceed.

A BusinessNZ release || May 08, 2018 |||