Kiwisaver changes will ensure fairness - EPMU

13 July, 2008

The Government's closure of a Kiwisaver loophole will ensure workers get the employer contribution they are properly entitled to, says the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union.

The union has previously had to treat some employers' exploitation of the loophole as an industrial issue to ensure its members got the contribution the law originally intended.

EPMU national secretary Andrew Little says the move means working New Zealanders who choose to enter Kiwisaver will not be disadvantaged.

"We've had employers try things like reducing wage increases and creating ‘superannuation allowances' in order to avoid paying their share of the Kiwisaver scheme.

"For employers to try to avoid their contributions when they are receiving considerable tax credits to cover that cost is simply dishonest and it means workers are effectively paying the employer's contribution as well as their own.

"The majority of employers have come into the Kiwisaver scheme in good faith but there will always be some bad apples and this legislation will stop them from evading their responsibilities.

"We've stopped employers exploiting these loopholes at the negotiating table on several occasions but are aware some non-union workers have not been so well protected."

 The EPMU has campaigned industrially and politically for employer contributions from the outset of the Kiwisaver scheme.