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Business leaders are backing changes to the Employment Relations Act aimed at improving labour market flexibility, but the Public Service Association says the changes are "radical" and warns it will amount to less secure employment.
"I'm announcing the introduction of the Employment Relations Amendment Bill to Parliament, marking a key milestone in this government's efforts to help New Zealand businesses employ or contract with confidence and create more and better opportunities for workers," Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden said on Tuesday.
The bill looks to change the distinction between "employment" and "contracting".
It also aims to simplify the personal grievances process to reduce "rewards for bad behaviour and reduce costs for businesses", van Velden said.
BusinessNZ director of advocacy Catherine Beard said the bill should provide more certainty, particularly around contract-based work.
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"Workers and businesses should have more certainty about the type of work being done from the moment they agree to a contracting arrangement," Beard said, adding that to the personal grievances process were also something that needed to be fixed.
"A system that increasingly fines employers for trying to deal with poor performance or serious misconduct including theft, fraud and even violence, is one that clearly needs fixing."
Beard said the removal of the 30-day rule that automatically classified new employees as union members under a collective agreement was something businesses wanted .
However, the Public Service Association called the changes "radical" and said they amount to less secure employment, lower wages and more dangerous workplaces.
"This is plainly and simply a fundamental erosion of workers' rights to secure employment," Public Service Association national secretary Fleur Fitzsimons said.
"The minister is effectively giving employers the green light to fire workers at will.
She said the changes will make it "virtually impossible" to bring a personal grievance if they are unfairly sacked
"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."
rnz.co.nz
