“ACT has a simple message for unions salivating over Fair Pay Agreements: Don’t bother. Fair Pay Agreements will be gone before the ink dries,” says ACT’s Small Business spokesperson Chris Baillie.

“The next Government that ACT is a part will simply delete this cynical by union for union policy. As ACT said in our First 100 day plan, it will be gone.

“MBIE has warned the Government that FPAs will reduce productivity and make it harder for employers to grow their businesses. If they want to grow wages and give employees a fairer crack, they need to stop hammering businesses and allow the labour market to flourish.

“Workers need greater productivity in New Zealand, not more byzantine bureaucracy. No country in history has every got rich by having more complex labour laws.

“Labour say this isn’t compulsory unionism, but refused ACT’s amendments to allow employees to opt out if they have a fundamental conscientious, religious, or moral objection. This is compulsory unionism plain and simple.

“Forcing people into involuntary agreements because a tiny minority of their industry want them is unjust and goes against basic principles of a free society.

“Why has Labour done this? They are the political wing of the union movement. Union organisers make up 30 per cent of Labour’s caucus but just 0.026 per cent of the general population. New Zealanders have voted against unions with their memberships which have gone from 70 percent to 20 percent over the past 30 years. Why should the rest of New Zealand have unionism forced on them because of Labour’s blind ideology?

“ACT will fight this plan. They’re a relic of the 1890s which have been dusted off purely to help Labour’s union mates. They will do nothing to advance hardworking middle New Zealanders.”

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