Unions accuse government of violating agreements relating to flexible work
The Public Service Association (PSA) has taken the New Zealand government to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) for its recent directive that called public servants back to the office.
The directive, which was announced in September, told public servants that work-from-home arrangements are "not an entitlement" and should be agreed upon by both employers and employees.
The PSA's claim to the ERA alleges that this instruction risks violating existing agreements between unions and the government.
"The directive violates the agreements the PSA and Council of Trade Unions struck with the government and the Gender Pay Principles, which are also contained in many collective agreements," said Fleur Fitzsimons, acting National Secretary of the Public Service Association, in a statement.
"These are binding in our view, which is why we are seeking a determination from the Authority to resolve this."
The Gender Pay Principles is an agreement in 2018 that led to the development of the Flexible-Work-by-Default Guidance, a resource for agencies that are developing their approach to flexible work for their employees.
"Flexible-by-default means shifting from asking 'why should a role be flexible?' to 'why not?'" the guidance reads.
"It means treating all roles as suitable for flexible working and exploring how flexibility could work, unless there is a genuine business reason for any role not to be. It does not mean that all types of flexibility will be possible for every role."
The guidance's website, however, said that it is currently under review to ensure its alignment with the government's new expectations on working from home.
According to Fitzsimons, they are asking the ERA to enforce the Gender Pay Principles and the Flexible Work by Default Guidance to ensure workplaces are free from gender-based inequality.
"The agreed Gender Pay Principles aim to end gender inequality and normalise flexible work practices, so for the Government to turn around and attack flexible work practices is a clear breach of these commitments," she said.
The PSA official warned that the government's directive could impact women in public service, or 62% of public servants, who may need flexible work to help them care for their whānau.
"The government not only risks violating existing agreements, it risks taking us backwards as a country when the public sector should be showing leadership and doing more to eliminate discrimination against women and particularly Māori women," Fitzsimons said.
Public Service Minister Nicola Willis said they stand by their expectations that working from home should be agreed upon by the employee and employer.
However, she noted that public servants may still have the ability to work from home "in a range of circumstances," Stuff reported.
"Working from home arrangements should only be agreed to where they will not compromise the performance of employees and agency objectives, and agencies must actively monitor the prevalence and impact of those arrangements," Willis told the news outlet.
She added that the Public Service Commission has been "actively engaging" with the PSA on how their new work-from-home expectations are reflected in refreshed guidelines.
