Media release: Council of Trade Unions

Monday 24 August, 2015

Workers safety, rights and rest time at Easter all taking a backward step this week

News that the government is planning to cut into family time off at Easter for retail workers comes on top of other backward steps for working conditions this week, the CTU said tonight.

Workplace Relations Minister Michael Woodhouse has this afternoon announced the removal of one of only three and a half days each year that shops are required to remain shut.

“Some things are more important than shopping. Easter is one of the few guaranteed times that workers in retail can be certain that they will have time off to spend with their families or take part in community or religious activities,” CTU Secretary Sam Huggard said.

“The current rules are not complex. They simply provide for a minimal three and a half days each year, that shops are required to remain shut. These are highly valued days for the largely poorly paid retail workforce, and there is no good reason to cut into this family time.”

“That these proposals are being announced in the same week that a currently much weaker Health and Safety Reform Bill will be voted into law, and an Employment Standards Bill will be read tomorrowthat attempts to legislate for the bad practise of zero hour contacts, is a sad indictment on the government’s commitment to keep New Zealand workers safe at work, with secure incomes, and with time off with their families,” Sam Huggard.

Ends.

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