Unions to get more power

By KEVIN TAYLOR political reporter

More power for unions and harsher penalties for bosses and workers who breach good-faith rules are in planned changes to employment law.

The beefed-up good-faith provisions are a central feature of the Employment Relations Law Reform Bill tabled in Parliament yesterday.

Business groups attacked the bill while the union movement welcomed the changes but described them as modest.

Fines of up to $5000 for individuals and $10,000 for organisations for "serious and sustained" breaches of good faith are included, as are fines for those trying to undermine collective bargaining or agreements.

Thousands of workers in the vulnerable cleaning, orderly and food service sectors will also get more protection when the business employing them is sold, transferred or contracted out.

Another feature is a last-gasp power for the Employment Relations Authority to determine a collective agreement where "serious and sustained" undermining of collective bargaining has occurred - although the hurdles for use of such a power have been set high.

The 59-page bill amends the three-year-old Employment Relations Act and Labour Minister Margaret Wilson said the changes were aimed at promoting collective bargaining, good faith and effective resolution of disputes.

She said the bill would not please everyone and she could "write the script for the spinners of doom", but she accused them of being locked in the past.

Council of Trade Unions president Ross Wilson said the bill represented modest progress.

However, it should go further to stop "freeloaders" riding on the coat-tails of collective bargaining efforts and better promote multi-employer agreements.

Mr Wilson said he was not worried businesses might complain as they did in 2000 when the Employment Relations Act was first tabled in Parliament.

The criticism led to the Government backtracking on some of the most controversial changes.

"The employers' statements in 2000 were overblown, to put it mildly," he said.

Mr Wilson said the bill brought New Zealand back to the "edge of the mainstream" of employment law frameworks internationally.

The CTU and unions particularly welcomed the "transfer of undertakings" clauses.

They require all employment agreements to outline steps to protect employees affected by a business's sale, transfer or contracting out.

However, higher levels of protection are provided for cleaners, food service workers, orderlies and laundry workers in the health sector, laundry and orderly workers in resthomes, and laundry workers and caretakers in the education sector.

These workers will be able to transfer on similar conditions to the new employer, and have the right to redundancy from the new employer if they are not wanted. If their agreement does not cover redundancy the workers will have the right to get the Employment Relations Authority to determine the entitlement.

The Minister of Labour will also have the power to recommend the addition of other occupations to the list of vulnerable workers.

Service and Food Workers Union national secretary Darien Fenton said history had been made with the protections, which were a victory for low-paid members of the union.

The union's central region secretary, Kevin Ryan, said when a business changes hands many arrangements are made about chattels like furniture and fittings.

"But the workers in practice are not valued as much as the chattels - they are just disposed with. Now the workers have a guaranteed status above the cleaning equipment."

Business New Zealand chief executive Simon Carlaw attacked the bill as an "undisguised shifting of the goalposts" by hitting both individual agreements and freedom of choice in the workplace.

If there was a serious breach of good faith the authority would have the power to impose the terms of an employment agreement, bringing back a kind of "Clayton's compulsory arbitration".

"It means contractual agreements between employer and employee can be determined by a third party."

Mr Carlaw said the transfer protections in sale and contracting-out situations would hamper growth and innovation.

National industrial relations spokesman Roger Sowry said the changes sought to reintroduce amendments Labour could not get through Parliament in 2000 because of huge opposition from business.

"Employers are justifiably nervous as unions will be given new powers that will allow them to drag small employers into multi-employer contracts."

The changes

Good-faith provisions strengthened: "serious and sustained" breaches mean fines of $5000 (individuals), $10,000 (organisations).

ERA to resolve disputes by setting terms of collective agreement if "serious and sustained" undermining of collective bargaining found.

Vulnerable workers get more protection (including mandatory redundancy) when businesses sold.

Employers face fines if they pass to individual agreements the terms and conditions agreed in collective bargaining - so-called free-riding.

Legal test in personal grievance cases will be what a "fair and reasonable" employer would do.

Employers to attend at least one meeting if multi-employer collective agreement is sought.

Labour Department inspectors empowered to probe equal pay complaints.




What they think


Council of Trade Unions president Ross Wilson - "In international terms it's a very modest measure. It brings us back to the edge of the mainstream of employment law frameworks in mainstream countries."

Labour Minister Margaret Wilson - "Gone are the days of treating employment relationships as nothing more than commercial contracts."

Act leader Richard Prebble - "This bill is all about trade union power."

Peter Tritt of the Employers and Manufacturers Association (Northern) -"The law changes will lead to interminable misunderstandings, wrangles and confusion."

Green MP Sue Bradford -"No longer will workers have to worry about showing up to work one morning, discovering that management has decided to sell or there's been a hostile takeover, and then having to apply for their jobs again, possibly with reduced conditions and lower pay."

Service and Food Workers Union national secretary Darien Fenton - "Workers who will be protected by the proposed law are some of the least visible in our society."

Business NZ chief executive Simon Carlaw - "Good faith will be more problematic, even a mystery.

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