Removing Employee Protection Is Big Step Backwards For NZ, Academic Warns

27 Jul 2010

OPINION: An employment relations Professor says proposed changes to employment relations legislation will support inefficient and disorganised employers.

Professor Erling Rasmussen, editor of a new book ‘Employment Relationships: Workers, Unions and Employers in New Zealand’ being launched at AUT tomorrow, says New Zealand is heading in the wrong direction by letting employee protection slip out the back door.

“Law changes will mean employers that don’t have suitable

HR systems in place won’t need to change their practices and

are in fact supported by legislation,” he says. “This is

a big step backwards in protection of employees.”

Proposed changes include new workers no longer being able to

file a personal grievance claim following dismissal (by extending

the 90-day trial period to all new employees), the possibility

of requiring a medical certificate for one day of sick leave,

and changing process requirements at the Employment Relations

Authority.

Professor Rasmussen says New Zealand is moving towards a US style

of HR practice with an at-will employment approach where employers

can get rid of a new employee for any reason and he warns this

will be damaging for the country. “Asking employees to get

medical certificates for taking a sick day, for example, is hugely

inefficient,” adds the Professor, “and employers already

have the possibility of dealing with employees abusing sick leave

entitlements.”

The proposed new legislation puts pressure on New Zealand which

is once again facing issues of brain drain and youth dropping

out of the workforce altogether, he says.

“We’re currently in the situation where once again people

are moving to Australia and overseas,” says Professor Rasmussen.

“Alongside this, around 17% of our young people are unemployed

with some being shut out of the workforce permanently.

“If we’re not careful, our brightest workforce will disappear

and we’ll create a low-skilled, casualised workforce, and that’s

recipe for economic disaster.”

The Employment Relations Act Professor Erling Rasmussen adds

that ten years on the Employment Relations Act 2000, which was

aimed at driving better productivity and flexibility, hasn’t

worked as intended.

“Unfortunately, we now have the situation where the government

is avoiding a debate about how the workplace can contribute to

solving the country’s productivity issues and instead it relies

on traditional cost-cutting and flexibility measures,” he says.

“Rather, its focus is on tax cuts, extracting resources, making

the public sector more efficient and restricting growth in areas

like tertiary education.

“Furthermore,” says the Professor, “public policy changes

appear driven by anecdotes and hearsay, rather than solid research

and statistical information.”

Professor Rasmussen says the announced changes will reduce employee

protection adding that it won’t mean they will become more

efficient or productive.

“This practice is not balanced or sustainable,” he cautions.

“We’re not building a high waged, highly skilled, highly

productive economy.”

‘Employment Relations in New Zealand’ brings together the

views of employers, unions and academics. High profile contributors

include former speaker of the house, Professor of Law and Public

Policy, Margaret Wilson, former government minister Laila Harré,

employment lawyer Andrew Caisley and employer and union representatives.

It looks at the major issues from the perspectives of all the

major players: public policy, collective bargaining, employee

representation, labour market adjustments, productivity, changes

in employment law and trends in employment institutions.

Notes for Editors: Professor Erling Rasmussen is available for

interview, see contacts below.

Book launch: ‘Employment Relationships: Workers, Unions and

Employers in New Zealand edited by Erling Rasmussen PhD When:

5.30pm, Wednesday July 28, 2010 Where: Level 8, AUT Business

School building, cnr Mayoral Dr & Wakefield St, AUT University

City Campus, Auckland City

About the book ‘Employment Relations in New Zealand’ provides

an unrivalled introduction to current trends and issues in New

Zealand employment relations.

Employment Relationships looks at the major issues from the perspectives

of all the major players: public policy, collective bargaining,

employee representation, labour market adjustments, changes in

employment law and trends in employment institutions. And it

tackles key questions: Has the Employment Relations Act supported

collective bargaining or allowed the expansion of individual

contracts. How had unions and employers reshaped the workplace

over the past decade? And what does the future hold?

Employment Relationships is an excellent resource for teaching,

for researchers both in New Zealand and overseas and for employment

relations practitioners.

Source: AUT

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