Council of Trade Unions media release - Te Runanga o nga Kaimahi Māori

1 April 2011

Bad for all, worse for Māori

The Council of Trade Unions Runanga says employment law changes coming into force today will impact particularly heavily on Maori workers.

The law changes include the extension of the 90 day “fire at will” trial period, restricting workers’ access to their unions and weakening rules on employers’ requirements to follow proper processes when dismissing workers.

CTU Vice President Maori Syd Keepa said the changes will particularly affect people at the margins of the workforce, such as in low paid, casual and low skilled jobs, where there are many Maori workers.

“What Maori workers want now is a decent plan to create jobs and lift incomes, not policies to make it easier for employers to sack them,” Syd Keepa, CTU Vice President Maori said.

Syd Keepa said Maori unemployment is at 15.5 percent, and he doesn’t accept arguments that the laws were about helping firms to create jobs.

“A job exists because there is work to be done, not because the person is easier to fire,” he said.

“Workers are feeling the pinch right now with rising costs in petrol, food and other items. These changes are a kick in the teeth for all workers, and Maori in particular,” he said.

ENDS

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