Government must move urgently to prevent working people losing millions

The Government must take action urgently to prevent working people losing up to a million dollars a day in unpaid holiday pay while the multi-billion dollar payroll problem is fixed, says CTU Secretary Sam Huggard.

The failure of payroll providers to comply with the law for years has left hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders out of pocket by up to $2.3bn, according to the Government’s own figures.

“Employers and the Government have a huge problem on their hands. Working people need a solid resolution. But, to do so, we need to stop the clock on the statute of limitations which is resulting in up to a million dollars of debt owed to working New Zealanders being lost every day.”

“Currently, there is a six year time limit on when employers must keep pay records. If, for example, it takes us two years to fix these issues, that’s two years of money owed to working people that may never be paid.

“We know what the solution is and have drafted a law change that will fix the problem and give some breathing space to the government, employers, and unions while the bigger payroll problems are sorted out. We are confident the government will find the numbers in the house to pass it urgently.”

“We wanted to offer a constructive, moderate legislative solution to the need to stop the clock on the statute of limitations for claims.”

“We have provided the Government with the opportunity to take this first important step, and we will support them in every way we can to help them achieve it for all working New Zealanders,” Huggard said.

Document providing background information can be found here.

ENDS

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