Cabinet Papers Reveal Government’s Blinkers
new-zealand-council-of-trade-unions
Sun Aug 29 2010 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
Cabinet Papers Reveal Government’s Blinkers
Sunday, 29 August 2010, 2:44 pm
Press Release: Council of Trade Unions
Council of Trade Unions media release
29 August 2010
Cabinet Papers Reveal Government’s Blinkers On Employment Reforms
The revelation that the Government’s proposal to allow employers to demand a medical certificate after only one day’s absence was made without any consultation with the Department of Labour only serves to confirm the CTU’s view that it is the ‘straw man’ in the current package of employment reforms.
And the willingness of the Government to adopt Act Party policy in extending the 90 day fire at will law to all workplaces contrary to their own initial intention should also ring alarm bells for anyone who thinks these are minor changes from a moderate centre-right administration.
CTU President Helen Kelly said: “We predicted on the 9 August that the sick leave proposal was likely to be cut in order to make the Government look conciliatory on this package of reforms. Why bother to consult policy advisers when you know you are going to sacrifice the measure in order to deflect attention from the far more serious attacks on employees’ rights?”
“It has also been repeatedly pointed out that the Holidays Act already allows the employer to require a doctor’s certificate for one or two days but only if the employer has reasonable grounds to believe the sickness is not genuine. The Government’s proposal is to remove the requirement for employers to be reasonable on this issue.”
“Hundreds of thousands of workers every year – including nurses, teachers and other professionals – will be made vulnerable to summary dismissal with no right of appeal whenever they move jobs under the extension of the 90 day law. Now they know who to thank: the Act Party and National’s cabinet who nodded through their policy proposal in return for the support they need in Parliament.”
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“The Department of Labour’s advice against changes to union access rules comes as no surprise to us either. In a Department consultation exercise in 2009 even Business NZ said they were happy with the status quo, and as we revealed in our letters to John Key about his broken promises on this issue, he has admitted to us that there is no problem that needs to be fixed.”
“It seems also that we are not the only people to be disturbed at the breakneck pace at which this legislation is being introduced and forced through without proper debate. If Treasury and Ministry of Economic Development concern at the haste is to be so routinely ignored and submissions crammed into three week windows, it suggests a Government with a closed mind which does not want to consult or negotiate or arrive at decisions from the best informed position. It reveals a Government with no respect for ordinary New Zealanders.”
ENDS
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