Industrial Relations

This is a crucial sphere of Government policy as it necessarily affects the well being of the mass of wage and salary earners.

• New Legislation has been put on the books (Commerce Amendment Bill, and Industrial Relations Amendment Bill) which restricts the rights of Trade Unions, including the CSSO and PSA, to act in the interests of their members. The International Energy Agreement Act gives the government the power to declare a state of emergency if petrol supplies are threatened.
• The Government has attempted to confuse the New Zealand public as to the nature of Trade Unions and have blamed the rate of inflation on wage rises.
• The definition of a strike has been altered to any industrial action with the exception of authorised stop-works when negotiating award claims or complaints over safety.
• Companies now have the right to sack all their workers if any industrial action in any other part of the factory affects production, hence turning the venom of the working class movement in upon itself.
• Unions and workers are forced to pay for strikes. Fines are $500 per worker per day and $1500 per Union per day.