4 July 2002
Labour's pretence at being business-friendly has been wiped out today with the release of its Employment Relations
Policy, says National's Industrial Relations spokesman, Simon Power.
"Under the label of so-called "fine tuning", it's planning to enact the contentious sale of business and contracting out
provisions that were originally taken out of the Employment Relations Act. This will be particularly crippling for small
business.
"It also talks of pay equity legislation and developing "a programme to promote equal pay for work of equal value".
While National's got no problems with equal pay for equal work, it's fundamentally opposed to bureaucrats deciding that
builders do the same work as cafeteria workers, and should therefore be paid the same.
"The proposed review of the ERA in order to enable ratification of ILO conventions 87 and 98 is inflammatory because
these conventions are generally interpreted by the Freedom of Expression Committee of the ILO as allowing general
strikes on social and economic grounds.
"New Zealand businesses have every reason to be worried.
"National's workplace policy, on the other hand, is fair to both employers and workers. It delivers a straightforward
industrial relations plan that addresses the constraints of the current regime while, at the same time, making
workplaces more flexible.
"We not only want to create better workplaces, but we want to make it easier for jobseekers to gain employment," says Mr
Power.
Ends