“Fairness at Work”

There was a strong feeling in Auckland last Saturday at the “Fairness at Work” rally which I joined along with a number of my Caucus colleagues.
It was heartening to see the good crowds also at the rallies in Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin.
At a time when unemployment is still rising, the Government is making Kiwi workers even more vulnerable by extending its 90 day laws to all companies.
Most employers are fair and reasonable but it is not right or fair that under this law bad employers can sack a wage or salary earner in the first 90 days without even having to give a reason or allow an employee to appeal the decision.
This legislation is a license for a minority of bad employers to sack people , deprivng them of their livelihood for bad reasons without ever having to justify their actions.
We've seen plenty of of examples already under legislation already passed by National covering small firms.
Stripping away the rights of wage and salary earners will drive down wages and do nothing to raise the living standards of most New Zealanders.
New Zealand needs a high wage, high-skill economy. But National’s 90-day ‘fire at will’ Bill takes away protections for working people that will drive us towards lower wages and conditions.