National's employment policy would drive down wages

25 July, 2008

The EPMU has criticised National's employment policy released yesterday as an attack on work rights that would drive down the wages of all New Zealand workers.

Major changes in National's policy include:

• The introduction of a 90-day no rights period for new workers in businesses with fewer than 20 staff.

• Union access to workplaces dependent on the employer's consent rather than as of right.

• Allowing non-union collective agreements.

• Making the fourth week's annual leave able to be sold for cash.

• A review of the Holidays Act, especially the issue of relevant daily pay for sick days and holidays.

EPMU national secretary Andrew Little says National's policy shows it has no plans to lift wages in New Zealand.

"Every point in this policy is an attack on current work rights and every point would put downward pressure on the wages of working New Zealanders.

"New Zealanders need higher wages to meet escalating costs of living and to close the wage gap with Australia and it simply isn't possible to do this by abolishing basic worker protections and undermining collective bargaining.

"With this policy we are seeing National's intentions include the desire to take all work rights off many workers in the first 90 days of a new job, to stop workers from getting on-site representation, cut their holiday pay and put pressure on vulnerable workers to give up their fourth week's annual leave.

"Every one of these moves is designed to take workers' rights from them and increase the power of employers. The last time work rights in New Zealand went backwards, wages fell. National's just promising working families more of the same."

At just one page and a few hundred words, the policy is silent on National's plans for Kiwisaver, paid parental leave, the minimum wage, time and a half on public holidays, health and safety, meal and refreshment breaks and vulnerable worker protections. A plan to turn the ACC scheme over to private insurers was released separately last week.

You can find National's employment policy and those of all other political parties at http://workrights.org.nz/party-policies/