Remuneration bill will harm contractors, says Chamber

Remuneration bill will harm contractors, says Chamber

The Minimum Wage (Contractors Remuneration) Amendment Bill is confusing and would make many contracts unworkable, says the Wellington Chamber of Commerce.

It could be passed into law as early as next week as a result of a vote switch by Ohariu MP Peter Dunne to back the Labour Party bill.

“This bill could be harmful to both contractors and employers, and as such would be bad for the economy.

“The proposed restriction on contracts would make many contracts unworkable and would cause confusion and uncertainty in many industries using contracts for services, including building, construction, manufacturing, forestry, cleaning services, transport and delivery.

“It’s poorly drafted. It assumes a contractor always has only one contract with one client, and assumes that that client should be paying an equivalent of the minimum wage or more. The problem is that most contractors provide their services to many clients.

“It tries to draw contracting and employment relationships more closely together but it’s just confusing, and will introduce a new range of constraints that will be counter-productive for contractors and impossible to regulate.

“Mr Dunne needs to reconsider his stance so this bill can be defeated.”

ENDS

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