Bill English and Paula Bennett put on 90-day trial

The incoming Prime Minister Bill English and his deputy Paula Bennett have been placed on 90-day trials as of today.

Stand Up, the youth network of the Council of Trade Unions, has issued the decision as the two take up the top roles in a government that brought in the punitive trials in 2009.

“Young workers have long opposed 90-day trial periods for the insecurity they bring to new hires and the unchecked power they give employers to churn through employees” says Stand Up representative Robin Wilson-Whiting.

“It’s time for the leaders of our country to see how they like being in an insecure job”.

Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment data confirms the trial periods are disproportionately used on young workers.

“We see these trial periods abused again and again and it’s time for the government to abolish them” says Wilson-Whiting.

Stand Up will be monitoring English and Bennett’s performance over the next 90 days to see if they are up to the task.

“If they can’t make the changes that the people of New Zealand are crying out for then we just might have to let them go.”

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