Darkest Day In Decades For NZ Workers’ Rights As ERA Bill Passes – Workers First Union

New Zealand’s employment law landscape has shifted dramatically following the passage of the Employment Relations Amendment Bill. Workers First Union has labelled it the most serious rollback of worker protections in decades — warning the law could redefine job security, contractor rights and workplace justice across Aotearoa.

What The Employment Relations Amendment Bill Changes

Workers First said that the passage of the Employment Relations Amendment Bill today was the “darkest day in decades” for New Zealand workers’ rights and that every person, whether an employee or contractor, should be deeply concerned for their future job security and prosperity.

NZ First’s Vote And The Political Fallout

Dennis Maga, Workers First General Secretary, said that while it was obvious that the governing ACT Party and National Party intended to change New Zealand law to protect the “exploitative” business model of employers like Uber, NZ First had “sold out” workers despite meeting with several unions over the last few months and claiming their intention to amend the Bill during its Committee Stage. Instead, NZ First offered no amendments during the final Parliamentary opportunity to develop the legislation and rejected every Opposition attempt to limit the Bill’s “catastrophic” scope.

“This ‘fire-at-will’ Bill not only protects contractor misclassification by enshrining the process in law, but it decimates the right to workplace justice and enables employers to erase the rights workers fought for decades to win,” said Mr Maga.

“This is a shameful day for Aotearoa and an international embarrassment. While other nations stood up to international corporates like Uber and required them to adapt to sovereign law, our Government has laid out the red carpet for them to redesign our employment system in their favour.”

“It’s no surprise to see the ACT Party advance legislation as the parliamentary wing of Uber’s business model, but NZ First’s decision to back the Bill is a stark act of hypocrisy.”

“They are a party that pretends to care about sovereignty but have turned their backs on New Zealanders today, and workers will not forget it.”

Uber Drivers, Contractor Misclassification And Supreme Court Implications

Mr Maga said that the passage of the Bill did not rule out the pursuit of backpay and lost entitlements for the misclassification of Uber drivers, which last year’s judgement from the Supreme Court allowed for. Over 1,500 financial claims for Uber drivers have already been lodged by Workers First Union, and they would proceed despite the law change.

End Of The 30-Day Rule And Personal Grievance Protections

Other elements of the Bill that disadvantage workers included the end of the “30-day rule” that protected new employees under an existing Collective Agreement, and changes to the Personal Grievance process that allowed employers to unilaterally define “serious misconduct” and deny workers the right to compensation or reinstatement if they are deemed to have “contributed” to the situation.

“The Bill is an omnibus of gifts to exploitative employers and a firm admission that this Government does not care about ordinary New Zealand workers,” said Mr Maga.

“It will worsen the cost-of-living crisis, exacerbate the exodus of New Zealand workers to Australia, and encourage more predation on the working class by big business without redress.”

“Specified Contractors” And The Risk Of Mass Reclassification

Ultimately, Mr Maga said the legislation created the conditions for New Zealand employers to pursue mass redundancies of employees before attempting to ‘re-hire’ them under the new category of a ‘specified contractor’, lacking the protections of employment like a minimum wage, holiday pay, sick and annual leave, and the right to join a union.

“If you think this Bill doesn’t apply to you now, it may well in the future,” said Mr Maga.

The passage of this Bill redraws the balance of power between capital and labour in Aotearoa. Whether it becomes a footnote in legislative history or a rallying cry heading into Election 2026 will depend on how deeply New Zealand workers feel the impact in their own pay packets and job security.