Darkest day in decades for NZ workers' rights as ERA Bill passes

Workers First said that the passage of the Employment Relations Amendment Bill today was the "darkest day in decades" for New Zealand workers' rights and that every person, whether an employee or contractor, should be deeply concerned for their future job security and prosperity.

Dennis Maga, Workers First General Secretary, said that while it was obvious that the governing ACT Party and National Party intended to change New Zealand law to protect the "exploitative" business model of employers like Uber, NZ First had "sold out" workers despite meeting with several unions over the last few months and claiming their intention to amend the Bill during its Committee Stage. Instead, NZ First offered no amendments during the final Parliamentary opportunity to develop the legislation and rejected every Opposition attempt to limit the Bill's "catastrophic" scope.

"This 'fire-at-will' Bill not only protects contractor misclassification by enshrining the process in law, but it decimates the right to workplace justice and enables employers to erase the rights workers fought for decades to win," said Mr Maga.

"This is a shameful day for Aotearoa and an international embarrassment. While other nations stood up to international corporates like Uber and required them to adapt to sovereign law, our Government has laid out the red carpet for them to redesign our employment system in their favour."

"It's no surprise to see the ACT Party advance legislation as the parliamentary wing of Uber's business model, but NZ First's decision to back the Bill is a stark act of hypocrisy."

"They are a party that pretends to care about sovereignty but have turned their backs on New Zealanders today, and workers will not forget it."

Mr Maga said that the passage of the Bill did not rule out the pursuit of backpay and lost entitlements for the misclassification of Uber drivers, which last year's judgement from the Supreme Court allowed for. Over 1,500 financial claims for Uber drivers have already been lodged by Workers First Union, and they would proceed despite the law change.

Other elements of the Bill that disadvantage workers included the end of the "30-day rule" that protected new employees under an existing Collective Agreement, and changes to the Personal Grievance process that allowed employers to unilaterally define "serious misconduct" and deny workers the right to compensation or reinstatement if they are deemed to have "contributed" to the situation.

"The Bill is an omnibus of gifts to exploitative employers and a firm admission that this Government does not care about ordinary New Zealand workers," said Mr Maga.

"It will worsen the cost-of-living crisis, exacerbate the exodus of New Zealand workers to Australia, and encourage more predation on the working class by big business without redress."

Ultimately, Mr Maga said the legislation created the conditions for New Zealand employers to pursue mass redundancies of employees before attempting to 're-hire' them under the new category of a 'specified contractor', lacking the protections of employment like a minimum wage, holiday pay, sick and annual leave, and the right to join a union.

"If you think this Bill doesn't apply to you now, it may well in the future," said Mr Maga.