MEDIA RELEASE
18 March 2004
CTU presentation to the select committee starts at 10.15am
Employment Law Must be Stronger, Unions tell Select Committee
The Employment Relations Law Reform Bill needs to be strengthened to make a difference to thousands of workers who want
to bargain collectively for a fair deal with employers, Council of Trade Unions president Ross Wilson told MPs today.
The CTU presented a 77-page submission to the Transport and Industrial Relations select committee which included 39
pages of suggested amendments to strengthen the Bill.
“The Employment Relations Act has been undermined, both by Court of Appeal decisions, and the actions of many large
corporate employers who seem determined to hold on to the industrial relations climate of the 1990s,” Ross Wilson said.
“Strengthening the Act is needed particularly to assist lower-paid groups of workers with little bargaining strength to
get a fair deal from these large employers.
“The Bill is moderate and will need improvements if it is to be of real help to the hundreds of thousands of New Zealand
workers who want to negotiate collectively with their workmates and are frustrated by their employer’s refusal to
bargain,” Ross Wilson said.
The full CTU submission will be posted on the CTU website at 10:15am. Here’s the link: