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Fair pay deals are dead in the water and won’t arrive before the 2020 elections, despite a request by the Greens for the controversial labor bill to be passed urgently.
The distinctive feature of Labor Party policy, which would force unions and employers’ associations to negotiate collective employment agreements across the industry, has been delayed for months by a new round of public consultations and negotiations between the coalition parties. of the government.
The Green Party on Wednesday proposed a package of strategies to raise the wages of New Zealand’s lowest-paid workers, many of whom were deemed essential during the closure of Covid-19, including the urgent approval of fair pay agreements (FPA). .
But Labor’s enthusiasm for the promised deals has waned in the past year, and the shake-up in labor relations has been pushed beyond the election.
The-Dominion-Post
An essential worker walks the Cuba Mall in Wellington wearing a mask and gloves.
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Labor Relations Minister Iain Lees-Galloway said in a statement, while his “ambition was to bring the legislation to the House before the election, Covid-19’s response will make it difficult now.”
“Fair pay arrangements are still needed, especially for many of our essential workers, and I will continue to work to achieve this,” Lees-Galloway said in the statement.
The Green Party, which has a trust and supply deal with Labor, has been pushing for the law to move forward, to a tepid response from Lees-Galloway in recent months.
ROSS GIBLIN / STUFF / Dominion-Post
Minister of Labor Relations Iain Lees- Galloway.
Lees-Galloway said in February that the final design of the law was being negotiated and would take months. Before this, he sought a second round of consultations, leading to an accusation by the National Party that Labor had given up on politics and were stalling for time.
Green co-leader Marama Davidson said Wednesday that FPAs should be passed urgently, the first part of a package of policies the party wanted to see to increase revenue.
Davidson said the Covid-19 crisis had shown that the country depended on front-line workers, people who stacked shelves and cared for the elderly in nursing homes.
“These heroes deserve to earn enough to live on and are proposing a series of changes for essential workers to pay a living wage,” he said.
JASON DORDAY / THINGS / Things
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson says the government must urgently approve fair pay agreements to support essential workers.
The Government should also commit to ensuring that contractors employed by the public sector earn a living wage, and a hospitality sector working group, including companies, unions and the Government, should be established to provide the industry with a ” more sustainable foundation. ”
Hospitality companies, forced to close under a month-long Covid-19 blockade, will have to operate under social distancing restrictions in the coming months. This will mean fewer clients through the door to ensure that people can keep a distance from others to prevent the spread of the virus.
