F&P losing patience with Government

By IRENE CHAPPLE

Sharemarket sweetheart Fisher & Paykel Appliances warned the Government yesterday that its patience with a rising tide of regulation was not unlimited.

Managing director John Bongard told MPs examining the Employment Relations Law Reform Bill in Auckland: "New Zealand is our home. We are proud Kiwis and proud of our innovation. But you have got to be realistic ... We would fight tooth and nail to stay here but we would rely on people such as yourselves to get the rules right so we can stay here."

The comment came amid pleas that the Government listen to concerns over the bill.

Bongard said any increase in compliance costs for labour issues was "tiresome, to say the least".

New Zealand First MP Peter Brown later asked if the company's employment would shrink if it stayed in New Zealand. The answer from F&P: Not necessarily. It would be the suppliers who would be most affected. Staying in NZ would not necessarily shrink the business, but it would make it harder for F&P to do business.

Bongard said the company faced intense overseas competition. "Every day we are being challenged to seriously examine sourcing of products and services from overseas to keep our costs competitive. Furthermore we are learning that trading with China with a 'market economy' approach is being entertained.

"That very same country is light years behind good employment practices but we appear to be willing to support them and risk the jobs of New Zealanders because we can't match their cost structures," he said.

Fisher & Paykel has a long history of collective agreements - for which it was congratulated by Labour MP Lynne Pillay - and Bongard told the select committee: "You are preaching to the converted".

But the company was opposed to several aspects of the bill and said it conflicted with how it wanted to manage the corporate culture. "With due respect to politics," said Bongard, "you have to run a business on a much longer timeframe [than politicians stay in power]."

The bill, which was introduced in December, includes a widening of the Employment Relations Act's good faith provision and promotes collective bargaining and fast-track mediation.

It also says multi-employer agreements must be at least discussed and collective agreements will be able to specify advantages over individual agreements.

The committee is hearing submissions in Auckland until Friday.