The Employment Relations (Probationary Period Repeal) Amendment Bill : First Reading
Hon Tariana Turia, Co-leader of the Maori Party
Wednesday 4 August 2010

Tënä koe. Firstly I want to congratulate Carmel Sepuloni on introducing this bill to restore the relevant provisions of the Employment Relations Act 2002 and in doing so, to overturn the legislative measures which would allow workers to be fired at will in the first ninety days of their employment.

And in doing so, I am particularly conscious of the statistics that come across my desk on a regular basis, telling us of some 21,000 Maori jobseekers and 7000 Pasifika jobseekers.

Of that number roughly a third fall into the youth category so they are under 24 years of age. It is those rangatahi in particular, that drive us to support this Bill.

We were told, and we have heard it again tonight – that the ninety day scheme would result in employment opportunity for youth to prove themselves: a chance to prove their worth. Well what happened?

What we know too well that Maori and Pacific people under 24 are struggling to get in to the workplace and they will be vulnerable to some unscrupulous employers who exploit the subsidy system.

The Maori Party voted against the 2008 Employment Relations Amendment Bill, which was passed under urgency without going through a select committee. And like other speakers, we want to scrutinise claims that there is evidence that the ninety day policy has created outcomes which demonstrate employers are giving more opportunities to young people. I agree – I actualy do agree – that the majority of employers are unlikely to want a revolving door of employees but the problem for our young people is that they cannot even get through the door.

I read a disturbing result from a recent study entitled Young(er) People’s Conceptualisations of the World of Work: A Qualitative Study.

The sample chosen for the Maori component of the research was drawn from an existing longitudinal study of Maori households called ‘The Best Outcomes for Maori: Te Hoe Nuku Roa’,– and it gave some clear warnings about the fragile stage of many of our young people embarking upon the workforce. The study revealed the tendency of a number of participants to consider themselves solely responsible for their success or failure in both study and the labour market.

In other words, they blame themselves for not being able to sustain long-term, secure employment. And in doing so, they seal off their future – believing their options are limited and that they won’t go there again.

The costs of failure to the state and to whanau are huge.

Mr Speaker, the workplace environment is a more complex world than one which many of the members in this chamber would have known.

In amongst the inevitable challenge of standing up to apply again for job opportunity, recent international studies highlight how the transitions from school young people are experiencing today are increasingly becoming less predictable and more complex than the school-to-work transitions of the past.

But there are still some pervasive issues that impact on the opportunities for young Maori to succeed in employment options; not the least being institutional racism.

The question that we have asked of the Government is how will the 90 day probationary period overcome that which Maori call the “brown barrier” a phenomenon of systemic bias against the employment and promotion of Maori in the job market?

Mr Speaker, it is a core feature of the Maori Party employment policy, that we support the right to be treated fairly and with dignity in the workplace.

We want to do everything we can to enhance the chance of success for our young and for young Pasifika peoples as well.

And so we will support this Bill at its first reading.

ENDS

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