This is despite employers' continuous opposition to the bill
New Zealand could see the passing of the Fair Pay Agreements (FPA) bill "this week," according to Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Wood, despite strong opposition from business groups.
"Fittingly, this week will also see the government pass legislation for Fair Pay Agreements to stop the race to the bottom and ensure that some of our lowest-paid workers get a fairer deal," Wood said on Labour Day. "This completes a key 2020 election commitment and speaks to our focus on improving life for working people in New Zealand."
The FPA bill seeks to "provide a framework for collective bargaining for fair pay agreements across entire industries or occupations, rather than just unions and particular employers," according to the proposed legislation.
Read more: Wood reiterates commitment to FPAs despite business pushback
The bill recently passed its second reading last week, which the Employers and Manufacturers Association (EMA) previously said was "rushed."
"The concerns raised on the FPA bill's consistency with the Bill of Rights Act, and the fact that the International Labour Organisation will continue to keep a watching brief on FPA's to ensure that they don't breach Convention 98 to make sure Kiwis’ rights are not being trampled, have been completely ignored," said Alan McDonald, head of advocacy and strategy at the EMA.
McDonald also said that there are other concerns about the notification of coverage of the FPAs for employers and employees.
"Apparently a notice in six local papers and one national website is enough to inform every employee and employer in the country that if they are in a certain sector, they are covered by a Fair Pay Agreement. If an employer misses that notice they're liable for prosecution even if they have no idea if part or all of their workforce is covered by the agreement," McDonald said. "And if an employee is covered by more than one agreement, then, if 25% or more of their job is covered by one agreement, they fall under that agreement. How is that decided?"
Read more: ILO backs New Zealand's 'Fair Pay Agreement' proposals
McDonald also raised the concern of the safety of information that must be handed over to the negotiating unions, claiming that this is a "breach of privacy" as almost 90% of private-sector employees are not union members.
"We are also very concerned by ill-defined terms such as low paid, best endeavours, and anti-social hours. If anti-social means outside the old 9am-5pm framework largely abandoned in the modern, flexible workplace, then defining that and some of the other terms is a sure-fire step to complex litigation," he said..
According to McDonald, the EMA also wants higher wages and salaries to workers, but that should also guarantee higher productivity.
Read more: EMA: Minimum wage hike could 'shut more people out of work'
"FPAs are a return to failed collective, centralised thinking that was having a negative effect on the country's productivity in the 70s and 80s, and they will reduce flexibility in the workplace at the very time it is most required," he said. "As we said in our submission on this bill, FPAs are a sledgehammer to crack a walnut. We'll continue to work on behalf of our members on this flawed, unnecessary piece of legislation."
