Death By 1,000 Cuts - Labour Panders to Unions
The Labour Cabinet has completely succumbed to union bosses' demands to kill New Zealand's flexible labour market, ACT
New Zealand Business Development Spokesman Deborah Coddington said today in a speech on the North Shore.
"Sources have told me that, August 11, Cabinet approved changes to the Employment Relations Act which will take this
country back to the dark old days of union control, national awards, compulsory unionism, multi-employer contracts, and
a requirement for employers to maintain pay and conditions or pay redundancy when a business is sold, Miss Coddington
said.
"Only three Ministers balked at these changes - Jim Anderton, Paul Swain, and John Tamihere - the three responsible for
economic growth. Things have come to a pretty pass when our liberty rests with Jim Anderton.
"Proposed changes include re-defining `unjustified dismissal' to mean `unfair'. So even if legal procedures are
followed, if an employee is already down on their luck the dismissal is `unfair', so therefore `unjustified'.
"A new clause will see union dues deducted from all employees, whether union members or not, if their bosses and unions
agree. Compulsory arbitration will be included; plus national awards meaning nationwide disruption like Cook Strait
ferry strikes every school holidays.
Miss Coddington also condemned, what she dubs, the `Margaret Wilson Slavery Clause', which would force anyone taking
over a new business or contract to keep employees on at the same pay rates and conditions, or pay out massive
redundancies.
"Why would any firm want to take over another firm when its hands are tied by government fiat?
"This is `death by 1,000 cuts'. Kicking in on top of changes to the Holidays Act, Matt Robson's Four Weeks Annual Leave
Bill, and the new OSH laws, the proposed ERA changes make further mockery of Labour's stated aim to get back to the top
half of the OECD," Miss Coddington said.