Covid 19 coronavirus: 6000 complaints filed against bosses since the first confinement

By RNZ

More than 6,000 employer complaints have been filed with the government since the beginning of March. That’s more than 10 times more than during the same seven-month period last year.

The data, published by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) to RNZ, records people who want help from the government to resolve a labor dispute.

More than 90 percent of the entries since March are related to the Covid shutdown. Examples include people unpaid from companies or workers who are forced to take leave.

Of the total of 6,096 complaints submitted to MBIE, approximately 5,500 were directly related to the wage subsidy.

“Given that the wage subsidy was effectively paid to 1.7 million workers, any number in the thousands would be high,” said Labor Relations Minister Andrew Little.

“But this was a plan that was intended to affect a lot of people [and] no wonder there have been some issues with it.

“I think the bottom line is that people have raised it with MBIE and now there is a process to follow.”

Concerns have previously been raised about the wording surrounding the wage subsidy, with some employers accused of taking advantage of poorly written rules and failing to pay workers their fair share.

Chloe Ann King, founder of the Raise the Bar campaign group, advocates for hospitality workers.

He said Covid was compounding problems that were already endemic in the industry, “which was wage theft, which was illegal behavior at the hands of employers.”

“Put it this way, in my 15 years working in the industry, and my five years advocating in the industry, I have not spoken with a hospitality employer who has a basic understanding of their legal obligation to their workers.”

He said that hospitality is a sector in which workers’ rights are often abused and that the current situation is making things worse.

“The only thing I think we are not discussing is just the impact on workers.

“Can you imagine? Covid is happening and your employer fires you at will. You have no way to pay the rent. It is really devastating for workers to be treated this way [and] his mental health deteriorates. “

1000 still unsolved
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment said that almost all complaints about wage subsidies have been resolved. However, its own data also shows that as of September 22, more than 1000 complaints of all different types remain unresolved.

They said the number is significantly higher than usual, but reflects the fact that the application’s processing slowed down during the first crash.

That was compounded by a large number of incoming complaints.

Employment law specialist and advocate Gerard Elwell said plaintiffs face extended wait times: mediation services are delayed for weeks; hearings at the Labor Relations Authority for months.

“It is something that is denying people access to speedy justice, and it certainly is an issue that needs to be considered,” he said.

Concerns have been raised about a pending waiting list for some time, and advocates in July warned of a delay at the Labor Relations Authority.

In September, another warning was issued of a system creaking at the seams due to huge demand.

Elwell said it won’t clear up anytime soon.

“There is probably enough work for most practitioners to continue until early next year.

“The new job may decrease in volume, however, there will probably be other problems: I think the layoffs will probably increase in number from what we have seen so far.”

Meanwhile, what is understood is that of all the complaints that have been made to the Government there are a much greater number of people who have not found the right path, or do not have the energy, or are in a too precarious employment situation. to make an official report.

“A lot of people who contact Raise the Bar know that [what] your employer [has] done is wrong, “said King.” But they still do not have the legal language to express exactly in formal terms what their employer has done.

“At Raise the Bar, that is exactly what we are trying to eliminate, to filing for mediation, to filing a personal complaint.”

$ 7.35 million government response
Elwell said the wage subsidy has so far postponed large numbers of layoffs, but they are coming.

Little said his team has taken steps to reduce the large number of complaints. “We have invested a total of almost $ 7.5 million in Employment New Zealand to help with the Covid-19 response.

“$ 4.2 million of that is just for handling complaints and complaint resolution. We have also invested some money to increase the number of mediators.”

He accepted that there will be difficult times for those who find themselves in such situations.

“I appreciate, if you are a worker who feels you have not been paid what you should, or have lost your job and have not been treated fairly or properly, waiting a few weeks is a hell of a time to do that.

“But there are a lot of people in the same boat, but this is an unprecedented situation that everyone is in, and we just have to do the best we can.”

In the meantime, the Government encourages those with complaints to use online mediation to help clear the backlog more quickly.