Listen to employers and workers, BusinessNZ warns government

BusinessNZ is calling on the government to listen to employers and employees and scrap its hotly debated Fair Pay Agreements (FPAs) proposal.

"With FPA legislation now in Select Committee, we are urging the government to start listening to the genuine concerns of employers and employees across the country about the negative effects FPAs will have on the way we work," said Business NZ chief executive officer (CEO) Kirk Hope.

"At their heart, FPAs are about compulsion and mean New Zealand employees and their employers lose control over the way they work and their right to negotiate their own employment conditions. That's not fair."

According to Hope, the FPAs will take away employees' power to decide how they work, when they work, and how much they get paid and give it to "faceless officials in Wellington."

"We don't think it's okay for your right to negotiate your working conditions with your employer to be stripped away because a small percentage of workers in your industry think it's the right thing to do," added Hope.

The Business NZ's remarks reinstate the sector's disapproval of the FPAs, which has been strongly pushed by Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Wood.

The minister in a statement early this week doubled down on the importance of passing the FPAs, stressing that it will "level the playing field" by enabling employers and unions to negotiate a basic floor under the pay and conditions of workers.

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However, Hope that while they agree that the current system needs to improve, the FPAs are not a solution to the issues it is facing. Instead, a targeted solution might be better.

"Higher wages come from improved productivity and a more skilled workforce. FPAs won’t achieve either of those things. They are a step backward, a solution looking for a problem," said the CEO.

"A far better option is to identify sectors that are facing wage challenges and develop a targeted solution to fix the problems in those few sectors. We don't need a one-size-fits-all, bureaucratic, sledgehammer solution across all sectors," he added.

"Our request to the government is simple: listen to employers and employees, scrap compulsory FPA legislation and do what your own officials have recommended - improve and strengthen the current system."

Business NZ recently launched a nationwide campaign called "Your Work, Your Way" to encourage citizens to sign up and reject the compulsory FPAs.

"We urge all Kiwis to join our campaign rejecting FPAs and calling for a smarter way of working - Your Work, Your Way," said Hope.