22 November 2006

EPMU welcomes defeat of No-Rights Bill

The Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union welcomes today’s decision by Parliament to reject the National Party’s 90 No-Rights Bill and congratulates the four parties that voted it down and the thousands of New Zealand workers who stood against it.

If passed, the Bill which would have stripped workers of all employment rights for their first 90 days in a new job and left many of New Zealand’s workers vulnerable to exploitation.

EPMU National Secretary Andrew Little says the Bill’s intent was particularly vicious.

“This was a callous attack on every New Zealand worker and I congratulate all those parliamentarians who had the good judgment to reject a piece of legislation that runs so contrary to Kiwi values of decency and fairness in the workplace.

“My concern is that this legislation remains core National Party policy and is representative of the attitude they have toward New Zealand’s working people.”

The EPMU and other unions campaigned against the Bill in a series of events culminating in major rallies in Auckland and Wellington earlier this year, when thousands of unionised workers and their supporters turned out at Parliament, Aotea Square and around the country to voice their anger at National’s attack on their rights.

ENDS

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