Secondary teachers' plans to go on strike next month show they disconnected from the real world, Prime Minister John Key says.

Surgery is being cancelled for hundreds of patients from Tuesday in preparation for four days of strikes by radiographers.

The Govt's decision to extend 90-day new-employee trials was made after a suggestion from the Act Party and went against the recommendation of its own Minister of Labour, Kate Wilkinson.

A judge has reserved his decision in the case of a pilot seeking his job back after he was fired for drinking and having sex with a young flight attendant the night before a flight.

The first employment case brought to court under 90-day trial laws has gone in favour of a dismissed pharmacy employee.

The Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra makes beautiful music. But one musician, who fled the Soviet Union, has been forced out on flimsy grounds, while others question the APO's management style. Chris Barton reports..

Many patients booked for elective surgery or an outpatient visit will have their appointments postponed during planned walkouts.

Now it seems there is a risk that employees could lose an entitlement to public holidays that fall during a closedown period

Despite protests from Labour and unions, legislation that extends the 90-day employment probation period passed its first reading in Parliament today.

The makers of one of NZ's best-known brands of pie were justified in sacking a worker who stored cockroaches in his locker, the ERA says.

There it is: process, process, process. It is a fundamental requirement of natural justice that a person is entitled to know exactly what is being alleged, by whom, and is afforded a real and fair opportunity to respond.

Whether it's the boss or the bureaucrats, the answer's the same: mind your own business.