23 August 2006

Greens welcome Maori Party opposition to "90-Day Bill"

News that the Maori Party have decided to no longer support Wayne Mapp's controversial "90-Day Bill", which would deny workers their basic employment rights in the first three months of work, is being welcomed by Green Party Industrial Relations Spokesperson Sue Bradford.

"I congratulate the Maori Party for taking the time to consider this bill carefully, and for reaching the inevitable conclusion: that it is a dangerous piece of legislation, designed to strip away the rights of some of our most vulnerable workers," Ms Bradford says.

"Since the introduction of this legislation, workers and young people, including many Maori, have been extraordinarily vocal in their opposition to it.

"While the stated aim of providing young and inexperienced workers with more employment opportunities is a noble one, in practice this bill would do nothing of the sort. In fact, it would allow employers to exploit new workers for three months and then fire them at will before having to provide any long-term employment security or benefits. Meanwhile workers fired under this law would still face a stand down period of up to 13 weeks before they could access an unemployment benefit.

"It is great that the Maori Party have seen through the spin and realised that Maori workers would be among some of the most vulnerable under this bill.

"Without the support of the Maori Party, the bill is very unlikely to go any further in Parliament. I'm sure workers and young people all over the country are joining me in a collective sigh of relief," Ms Bradford says.

ENDS

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