Govt has to wake up, says Bridges
The prime minister is in complete denial and is ignoring the issues surrounding low business confidence, says Simon Bridges.
The National Party leader lobbed these allegations in Jacinda Ardern’s direction after the Government doubled down in its battle on the subject.
Ardern dismissed suggestions employers should be worried about the looming changes to employment laws – suggesting the concerns were centred on clauses relating to rest breaks, and that she was keen to listen to feedback.
Since Monday afternoon Ardern has played down the significance of surveys showing corporate confidence was at its lowest level since the global financial crisis, by pointing to indicators that showed the economy was performing strongly.
But Bridges believed the real consequences of low business confidence left unchecked had already begun to set in.
Members of BusinessNZ’s network, including the Employers and Manufacturers Association and Business Central, have run a vocal campaign against the Government’s Employment Relations Amendment Bill.
Speaking ahead of her weekly caucus meeting, Ardern said there was no cause for concern.
‘‘I generally am interested in hearing that feedback from business – what is driving some of that sentiment. If it is things like bringing back rest and meal breaks then yes, I do want to hear about that,’’ she said.
‘‘But we’ve got to make sure that we’re constantly striking that balance; creating the environment where our businesses thrive and at the same time, seeing workers’ wages coming up, because actually, that helps our economy, too.’’
Bridges said Ardern’s arguments did not bear scrutiny. Growth was falling and unemployment was rising.
‘‘Jacinda Ardern and [Finance Minister] Grant Robertson need to get out, they need to listen to businesses.’’
Robertson said it paid not to get ‘‘too fixated’’ on monthly economic indicators. That was after the Treasury downgraded its forecasts on Monday.
‘‘I’m confident about our long-term plan for the transition of the economy,’’ he said.
John Milford, the chief executive of Business Central and the Wellington Chamber of Commerce, said he was not sure what Ardern was referring to in her comments on rest and meal breaks, which were not part of the ‘‘fix the bill’’ campaign that he has been part of.
Instead, the employer groups had urged the Government to abandon clauses that would allow union officials to enter workplaces at any time, the requirement to be part of multiemployer collective agreements, and especially the plan to abolish 90-day work trials for businesses with more than 20 employees.
Milford was adamant the 90-day trial periods gave employers the scope to consider employees they would otherwise refuse to hire. ‘‘That, we believe particularly strongly, is needed to allow Kiwis a chance.’’
Workplace Relations Minister Iain Lees-Galloway has already begun pushing back against the business-led campaign, which he has claimed is partly responsible for the fall in confidence. He believed most of the claims in the campaign were factually inaccurate.