All Workers Will Now Be Able To Be Fired At Will - The Govt Has No Shame
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brook van Velden has introduced the Employment Relations Amendment Bill which will make it harder for workers to bring personal grievance claims.
"This is plainly and simply a fundamental erosion of workers' rights to secure employment - the Minister is effectively giving employers the green light to fire workers at will," said Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi.
"It will be virtually impossible for a worker to bring a successful personal grievance if unfairly sacked. This is a radical change for every workplace in New Zealand, again exposing the Government's priority to make life easier for employers, harder for workers.
"If a worker is dismissed unjustifiably, the only remedy is through a personal grievance. There is no problem here the Government is trying to solve. The current remedies are already very limited with reinstatement only being ordered in 16 cases at the Employment Relations Authority in 2024 according to their Annual Report.
"But now the Bill will make it easier for employers to find a way to undermine any personal grievance claim by establishing some conduct by the worker that contributed to a dismissal.
"Under the Bill, an employer will be able to amplify any conduct by the workers - it won't be hard for some justification to be found to defend against the claim.
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"This is all about weakening any claim and discouraging a worker from bringing a claim in the first place. That will mean workers will find it much harder to be reinstated which is ultimately what most workers want or get compensation for hurt and humiliation.
"The Minister trumpeted the changes as all about 'labour market flexibility'. We heard the same thing in 1991 with the Employment Contracts Act which the Government then promised would increase productivity. That didn't happen, it just stripped workers of rights and emboldened employers.
"We are seeing the same playbook now with planned cuts to sick pay, pay equity, the 90-day fire at will law, weakening health and safety requirements for employers and the axing of Fair Pay Agreements.
"That all amounts to less secure employment, lower wages and more dangerous workplaces.
"The Government has no shame and workers across New Zealand will pay the price for that for years to come."
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