Today’s announcement from the Minister of Workplace Relations emphasises how deep in the pocket of big business this Government really is.
“This is the latest episode in a series of assaults on workers’ rights,” says the Green Party’s spokesperson for Workplace Relations, Teanau Tuiono.
“Our economy has been built upon the backs of our workers, by supporting our workers we support ourselves. Across generations and over many decades, the rights of workers have been hard fought for and should be celebrated as a hallmark of a modern economy that looks after people.
“However, the Government is laying a brick wall between the most vulnerable workers and the rights that belong to them.
“The coalition’s proposed amendments to the Employment Relations Act will insert another barrier for people who are classed as contractors being able to have the reality of their working arrangements be recognised as an employee.
“This is something that quite clearly plays directly into the hands of companies looking to cut corners and boost profit margins at the expense of our workers – by denying people sick pay, holiday pay, and job security. It’s yet another example of this Government legislating over hard-won rights in the favour of the corporate interests.
“These changes would also allow companies to limit the number of people they employ on full-time contracts and instead rely on flimsy working arrangements that have less protections and less accountability.
“This slapdash approach goes against the recent Court of Appeal ruling on the Uber case which carefully considered the nature of the working arrangement on the facts, and confirmed the legal status quo that if it looks like an employment arrangement and works like an employment arrangement, it’s an employment arrangement.
“A Green Government would undo the laundry list of attacks on the rights of workers this Government is guilty of, including this one,” says Teanau Tuiono.
