Tenth-ranked Act Party list candidate Shawn Tan has been suspended by his employer the Labour-affiliated Engineering Printing and Manufacturing Union, after it was revealed at the weekend he was standing for the right-wing party.
EPMU president Andrew Little today said Mr Tan had been suspended for failing
to get approval from the union's executive to stand as a candidate.
Under the union's rules there is a requirement to do so.
Mr Tan works as an organiser in the union's call centre.
Mr Little said most requests were dealt with on the basis of workload, but in the case of someone standing for ACT, which held positions counter to the union's core beliefs, the choice of party could be an additional factor.
That was because the union needed to decide whether it was going to give Mr Tan time off from his job to campaign for ideas it disagreed with.
However, he said Mr Tan's case had not gone that far as he had not sought the executive's approval.
Mr Little said the EPMU's policy was similar to other employers.
"It is no different to any other workplace. There are requirements when an employee wants to undertake activities outside their employment that have the potential to bear upon their employment and they are required to get the approval of the employer to do that," Mr Little told NZPA.
"That is the issue between us that we are resolving at the moment."
Mr Tan told the National Business Review that when he first outlined his plan in July to stand as a candidate in Mt Roskill, he was told by the union's director of organising Bill Newson that if he wanted to do so he expected him to resign.
Mr Tan said he told him he would not stand as he did not want to be fired, but reassessed just ahead of ACT announcing its list at the weekend.
But Mr Little said he had "another account" of the conversation between Mr Tan and Mr Newson and emails from Mr Tan that suggested a different conversation was held.
Mr Little said the union and Mr Tan would meet next week. There had also been a request for mediation.
The Human Rights Act prohibits employers from discriminating against employees based on political beliefs, except where the staff member is an adviser to parliamentary or local body politicians.
- NZPA
