25 July 2013

Massive reaction against employment law changes

CTU and affiliated unions will today be delivering thousands of submissions from workers around New Zealand who are speaking out against the Government’s employment law changes that will cut pay and conditions.

CTU President Helen Kelly says “we’ve been overwhelmed with submissions; people are against this law change and want the government to know. As a movement, we’ve received over 12,000 form submissions and hundreds of personalised submissions asking to speak to the Committee.”

“People from Invercargill to Wairoa, from Nelson to Northland want to be heard by the Committee. It’s important they get a chance to be heard - the Committee needs to agree to travel to hear their submissions.”

“People are fuming that the Government is launching an attack on wages and conditions in these difficult times. The Government’s own papers say that under these changes wages will fall. This is not the kind of New Zealand most of us want."

PSA National Secretary Richard Wagstaff said “it’s no surprise that members feel so passionately about the proposed ERA changes. These changes are designed to push down wages and undermine hard-won conditions. They are bad for workers and bad for families.”

“The proposed changes will undermine collective bargaining, remove protections for new workers and put negotiated pay improvements at risk. Members have used this submission process to tell the government that they oppose these changes. New Zealand needs laws to lift wages and conditions not reduce them.”

Earlier this week the Council of Trade Unions launched a major campaign opposing the Government's cuts to employment rights and standing up for Fairness at Work. At the launch in Auckland, Helen Kelly announced unions will hold stop work meetings in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch next month to rally opposition to the law change.

Unions will also organise a national day of action at workplaces across New Zealand to raise awareness of the impact the Government’s changes will have on working Kiwis.

ENDS

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