New Zealand

New Zealand
Due to a change of government in November 1999, resulting in the election of a Labour/Alliance Coalition, there has been a major reorientation of policy. This has included the repeal of a major deregulation of the labour market under which Individual contracts were promoted ahead of collective bargaining, and union rights were largely removed. A new Employment Relations Act primarily based on good faith collective bargaining went into effect on October 1, 2000. The government has also re-nationalised workers compensation, which was privatised in 1999 and introduced 12 weeks paid parental leave. Minimum wages have been increased each year since. The Government also increased pensions; reduced rents for state housing, and reduced interest payments on student loans.

In July 2002 a Labour-led Government was re-elected and are in a minority coalition government with the Progressive Coalition party which has 2 members of Parliament. The Green Party or United Future Party are needed on each occasion to support legislation and Budgets and have separate agreements with the Government to ensure this occurs. The Government has passed new Health and Safety legislation, a revised Holidays Act with improved payments for work on public holidays and the introduction of 4 weeks annual leave to apply from 2007. A new Bill, the Employment Relations Law Reform Bill was introduced in December 2003 and aims to strengthen collective bargaining. It also includes measures to protect workers in the case of the sale, transfer or contracting out of their employer’s business. Labour Party policy also includes commitments to regularly increase the minimum wage, upgrade paid parental leave to 14 weeks, extend to those who have had more than one employer in previous year, extend to self-employed, review the adequacy of redundancy law by establishing a Ministerial Advisory Group, introduce a minimum code of practice for state sector contractors, and also measures to offset the adverse effects of casualisation.

To read a detailed labor market analysis for New Zealand, download one of the following:
Adobe Acrobat [.pdf] [size 195 kb]
Microsoft Word [.doc] [size 238 kb]
For economic statistics on New Zealand, download one of the following:
Adobe Acrobat [.pdf] [size 86 kb]
Microsoft Excel [.xls] [size 51 kb]
The New Zealand Experiment, 1984 - 1999 describes why that country's neoliberal experiment failed, and how the country's current government is working to reestablish a balanced set of social democratic policies.:
Adobe Acrobat [.pdf] [size 333 kb]
Microsoft Word [.doc] [size 154 kb]

Source:
CTU—New Zealand Council of Trade Unions
Level 7, West Block, Education House
178 Willis St, PO Box 6645
Wellington, New Zealand
Tel: 0064 4 385 1334
Fax: 0064 4 385 6051
ctu@nzctu.org.nz
http://www.union.org.nz/

Data updated April 5, 2004.

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