New Workplace Relations Minister Welcomed – CTU
The Council of Trade Unions, on behalf of all working people welcomes Michael Wood as Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety.
“Minister Wood comes to this role with a depth and breadth of experience as a union organiser. He knows first hand the challenges that working people in Aotearoa face. He is a compassionate, hard working, committed individual, whom we are confident will show clear decisive leadership to ensure that this is the best place to work in the world,” CTU President Richard Wagstaff said.
We are expecting swift action on :
1. Safer sick leave – as per their election promise, we look forward to the increase to 10 days sick leave being put into law in their first 100 days in office, enabling people to take sick leave from the first day of work, and we’ll be pursuing getting rid of National’s unfair changes around medical certificates.
2. Fair Pay Agreements – all the work has been done, and now is the time for implementation including the passing of legislation in line with the Framework for Fairness principles for a good FPA law and the Joint Working Group recommendations:
3. Make Work Safe – by increasing funding to WorkSafe, reviewing the Health and Safety at Work Act, ensuring there are elected Health and Safety representatives in all workplaces, ensuring there are better protections against psychosocial harm and empowering working people to keep their work safe under the law.
4. Extending the Living Wage to all contractors in the public sector.
“I have personally contacted Minister Wood and look forward to meeting with him as soon as possible. There is a lot of important work to do and I’m confident the Minister is the person to show clear leadership. We look forward to working with him,” Wagstaff said.
The biggest problem in the workplace is lack of security in work.
This is not addressed at all and one of the biggest issues facing NZer’s as you can be working for 50 years and then be fired and get no automatic redundancy https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-depth/365540/why-being-made-redundant-in-nz-is-so-tough and people can also be fired then next week someone advertises your job! https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/121625411/smiths-city-advertises-for-new-staff-days-after-making-115-redundant
Much worse as companies themselves have increasingly become vehicles for global financial/tax avoidance as explained here where the profits from Cadbury went as it was sold offshore. https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/201843153/business-commentator-rod-oram
How can people pay a mortgage or get ahead when jobs are so transient in NZ?
What is the point of sick leave when you can lose your job at the drop of a hat?
Government policy or lack of it, has created a lazy work culture in NZ, incentivising financial redundancy to make end of year profits look better temporarily, and has become the norm as part of day to day management in NZ, as workers are now considered widgets to be discarded/used willy nilly?
Some unions in NZ have become collaborators with industry to lower wages and decrease local job security and opportunities, instead of watchdogs.