BusinessNZ mulls labour law challenge
Leading business groups are threatening to take an international challenge to proposed industrial law reform, claiming it breaches international law.
The Employment Relations Amendment Bill has been reported back to Parliament, with the majority of the Education and Workforce Committee recommending the legislation be passed with only minor amendments to that originally put before the house in January.
Business groups have repeatedly attacked the legislation, with BusinessNZ’s member groups running a ‘‘fix the bill’’ campaign on billboards and in print media.
BusinessNZ chief executive Kirk Hope said the legislation ‘‘remains harmful and oppressive’’ and the group would continue to voice its opposition as the legislation progressed.
‘‘BusinessNZ is also considering pursuing a claim to the International Labour Organisation [ILO] or International Court of Justice on parts of the bill which are contrary to international law,’’ Hope said in a statement.
The group’s members include a number of New Zealand’s largest companies as well as the chambers of commerce network.
The ‘‘fix the bill’’ campaign has warned that the proposed bill would end 90-day trials for companies with at least 20 staff, give union officials access to the workplace at all times, force businesses to settle collective agreements, and remove the right to opt out of multi-employer collective agreements.
Workplace Relations Minister Iain Lees-Galloway said the proposal would be recognised by employers from a time when the ‘‘economy thrived’’.
He was confident the legislation was compliant with ILO rules regarding collective bargaining and the right to organise.
Lees-Galloway has previously claimed the business campaign was deliberately misleading.
Council of Trade Unions president Richard Wagstaff welcomed the select committee report, which maintained the commitments made by Cabinet in 2017 ‘‘despite cynical attacks by a big business lobby willing to splurge on advertising’’.