Employers still trying to pick workers off one-at-a-time
"We are delighted that New Zealand has at last been able to ratify ILO Convention 98, which allows workers to
use their collective strength to bargain," said Geraldine Molloy of Finsec the union for finance workers.
"While our employment law now promotes collective bargaining, some employers are still fighting for the outmoded
individualism of the Employment Contracts Act. "Increasingly employers are taking our union to court to try to
keep workers out of collective contracts.
"It is well documented that workers on collective agreements achieve better results than those on individual
agreements, so it is easy to see why employers would want to pick them off one-at-a-time.
"We whole-heartedly agree with CTU President Ross Wilson that the Employment Relations Act now needs to be
reviewed to make it more difficult for employers to put obstacles in the way of workers' rights both to associate and to
use their collective strength to bargain," Ms Molloy said.