Good working conditions help support good lives, but for decades, working people in Aotearoa have not received their fair share of productivity gains.
At the same time, work has become more precarious, with short-term contracts instead of stable employment. This makes it harder for people to care for themselves and their families.
The Green Party has supported the Government to end National’s roll-back of workplace rights, including restoring the right to a meal break and ending most 90-day trial periods. We’ve guaranteed that core public sector employees will be paid at least the living wage.
But we need to go further and faster to ensure all workers get a fair deal, by improving collective workplace rights and employment protections in law, while ensuring the state sector prioritises good employment standards.
The Green Party will:
- Progress Fair Pay Agreement legislation, and prioritise the essential workers who supported our communities during COVID-19.
- Guarantee annual minimum wage increases, and abolish the “youth wage” starting out rate.
- Move to default union membership so people automatically join a union when they start a new job, but can opt out.
- Encourage worker representation on boards of publicly listed companies.
- Restore the right to solidarity strikes and political strikes.
- Introduce ten days of employer-funded sick leave, with unlimited top-ups through a reformed ACC.
- Progressively shift to five weeks annual leave.
- Improve redundancy processes and provide a minimum of one month full pay for people made redundant.
- Ensure employment laws enable flexible working arrangements including working from home or a four-day working week.
- Increase the number of labour inspectors to ensure workplaces are meeting their obligations to their staff.
- Review the Health and Safety Act and Worksafe’s capacity to ensure safe workplaces, including freedom from bullying, harassment, and sexual harassment.
- Extend the living wage beyond the core public sector, including to contractors.
- Remove barriers for hiring and promoting women and marginalised groups.
- Develop specific employment and equity standards to be used when selecting contracts for government procurement.