Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Wood stands by Fair Pay Agreements. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Wood stands by Fair Pay Agreements. Photo / Mark Mitchell
A United Nations body wants more information about Fair Pay Agreements (FPAs), the Government's tentpole labour market reform.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) is the United Nations body responsible for the setting and application of standards governing the relationship between employers and workers.
It has asked the Government for moreinformation on FPAs after Business NZ, the body representing New Zealand businesses complained they breach "convention 98", a standard set by ILO, which protects the right to organise and collectively bargain.
That complaint has worked its way through the ILO's web of committees and experts to the point where a committee (specifically, Conference Committee on the Application of Standards of the International Labour Conference) made a request to the New Zealand Government for more information about the agreements.
The International Labour Conference (ILC) is the annual meeting of the three parties to the ILO, representing employers, workers, and governments.
The request for further information is an allegation of wrongdoing and because the ILO and ILC represent employers, workers, and governments it is unlikely that a strong finding of guilt or innocence when it comes to breaches of ILO standards will ever be issued.
"This was expected because of the employers' insistence in negotiations at the ILO to have it discussed," Wagstaff said.
"Being on the shortlist does not in any way indicate the ILO does not support the creation of FPAs in NZ," he said.
The Committee's decision to request information from the Government has evolved into a question of whether it means the ILO believes the Government has breached international labour standards.
At this stage, however, the Committee has requested information from the Government, and has not made any determination as to whether a standard had been breached.
Business NZ said the ILO had "determined that New Zealand has a case to answer, and has invited the New Zealand Government to supply information to the ILO Committee on the Application of Standards at the ILO's 110th formal session in Geneva next week on New Zealand's proposed Fair Pay Agreements policy".
Finance Minister Grant Robertson with Business NZ chief executive Kirk Hope (left), and CTU President Rirchard Wagstaff (right). Photo / Mark Mitchell
"Along with 21 other countries accused of labour breaches including discrimination, forced labour and child labour, New Zealand is deemed to have a case to answer regarding its intention to breach a fundamental labour convention which protects freedom of association," wrote Business NZ in a media release.
BusinessNZ Chief Executive Kirk Hope said Businesses believed the policy would "limit the freedoms of workers and employers".
Wagstaff said New Zealand's inclusion on a shortlist of countries from whom the ILO has requested more information reflected "a process of negotiation between employers and unions at the ILO and it has been agreed that a discussion concerning FPAs, how they work and their benefits would be desirable".
"The NZCTU looks forward to sharing the benefits of the proposed FPA system with other countries at the ILO," he said.
Workplace Relations Minister Michael Wood said the ILO had "agreed to consider Business NZ's complaint in relation to the Government's proposed Fair Pay Agreements".
"Our position is clear, we remain committed to delivering a fair deal for Kiwi workers. Sector-based bargaining is commonplace across the OECD, and we are focused on ensuring our position is represented strongly as we work through the ILO process," Wood said.
Act's Small Business spokesman Chris Baillie said the Government should pre-emptively scrap FPAs as a result of the Committee's request for more information.
"New Zealand will be investigated alongside other countries such as Guatemala, Kazakhstan, and Malawi for potentially breaching international labour law," Baillie said.
"Labour should save our country the embarrassment and just scrap them. It amounts to unionism by stealth and will simply make it tougher for business who are already doing it tough in a cost of living crisis," he said.
But Wood said "an appearance before the Committee is not an unusual event".
"It is part of the ordinary workings of the Conference. Most countries will, at some time or another, appear before it," he said, adding that the last time New Zealand appeared before the committee was in 1998 to "answer inquiries about its minimum wage fixing processes".
He conceded the ILO had "agreed to consider Business NZ's complaint in relation to the Government's proposed Fair Pay Agreements".
FPAs will overhaul employment law in New Zealand, making it far easier for workers to collectively negotiate with employers, and creating sector-wide awards determining pay and conditions for workers.
Under the Government's proposal, unions can begin an FPA negotiation if they get support from 1000 workers who would be covered by the agreement, 10 per cent of a workforce, or meet a public interest test. People do not need to be union members to count towards those tests, and they do not need to join a union to be covered by an FPA.
They grew out of a 2017 manifesto commitment from Labour, which was developed by a working group led by former National prime minister Jim Bolger. Labour failed to get an FPA regime over the line in its first term after failing to win over coalition partner NZ First.
