Labour law a ‘work in progress’

NZ First leader Winston Peters will not guarantee his party’s support for the Government’s controversial industrial relations bill, saying it is still a ‘‘work-inprogress’’.

Peters did not directly threaten to withdraw his party’s support for the bill, but signalled there was still room for negotiation between the Labour and NZ First on it.

The Employment Relations Amendment Bill is Labour’s flagship employment bill, and has drawn a sustained campaign of criticism from business groups.

The bill would end the 90-day trial for all large businesses, bring back legislated real and meal breaks, allow greater union access to workplaces, and force employers to accept multi-employer collective agreements, if their employees wanted them.

Labour MPs are adamant the legislation basically returns industrial policy to where it was prior to the last National government’s changes.

National MPs and business groups have said it would take New Zealand back to the 1970s.

The bill has just come back from the Education and Workforce Committee, with the majority endorsing it, with some minor technical changes.

NZ First have an MP on that select committee, but he did not endorse the National Party’s minority report on the bill, which heavily opposed it.

However, Politik reported yesterday that NZ First MPs were considering pushing back against the bill. Peters said the Politik journalist had been interviewing his keyboard, but Peters failed to clearly endorse the bill, despite being asked several times.

‘‘Of course, if it is a Government bill then it will be dependent upon what happens in the select committee, in regard to the submissions that were made,’’ Peters said.

‘‘I know that this is a work in progress, it always has been. We’ve always had regard for all the submissions. In the fullness of time you will see how a coalition government works.’’

Workplace Relations Minister Iain Lees-Galloway said the bill was not a work in progress.

‘‘At this stage the bill has been reported back from select committee and the next stage is in second reading.’’