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Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety Michael Woodhouse today announced the appointment of Fran Wilde as Chair and Geoffrey Summers as a new member of the Remuneration Authority (the Authority).

The Authority is responsible for setting the rates of pay and allowances for Members of Parliament, the Judiciary and local authority members.

The first meeting of the Pay Equity Working Group is an important milestone in the work to deal with equal pay claims, Ministers Paula Bennett and Michael Woodhouse say.

Ministers announced the formation of the Group in October to develop principles for dealing with claims of pay equity under the Equal Pay Act.

“Pay equity is a serious issue, and I am very pleased that representatives of employers, unions and Government agencies are getting together to discuss how progress can be made,” State Services Minister Paula Bennett says.

A Bill enabling local communities to decide whether retailers in their districts can open on Easter Sunday was introduced to Parliament today, says Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Woodhouse.

“The Shop Trading Hours Amendment Bill will enable communities, through councils, to choose whether or not to allow trading on Easter Sunday,” Mr Woodhouse says.

“The historical Easter Sunday shop trading exemptions are out of date and create an unfair advantage for certain businesses and regions that can continue trading while others stay shut.

Employers and unions have agreed to a Government proposal to set up a Joint Working Group to develop principles for dealing with claims of pay equity under the Equal Pay Act.

Minister of State Services Paula Bennett and Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety Michael Woodhouse say the group will recommend agreed principles on pay equity that could be applied in all sectors of the economy.

Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Woodhouse today acknowledged outgoing New Zealand Council of Trade Unions President Helen Kelly, who formally stepped down from the role yesterday. 

“Helen has made a significant contribution during her time as President of the NZCTU over the last eight years,” Mr Woodhouse says.

“Her hard work and dedication to the NZCTU is a considerable service, not just to the NZCTU itself, but to all workers in New Zealand.

Workplace Relations and Safety and Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse and the Philippines Secretary of Labour and Employment Ms Rosalinda Baldoz have today signed a bilateral Arrangement on the recruitment and treatment of Filipino migrant workers.

“New Zealand greatly values the contribution Filipino workers make to New Zealand’s labour force – particularly in areas such as the Canterbury rebuild,” Mr Woodhouse says.

The duration of paid-parental leave will be extended for eligible parents of pre-term babies, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Woodhouse announced today.

The Minister agreed earlier this year to work with ACT Leader David Seymour to review the support provided in situations of multiple birth, disability and pre-term births.

Today’s passing of the Health and Safety Reform Bill marks a major step in addressing New Zealand’s unacceptable workplace death and injury toll, says Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Woodhouse.

“This is the first significant reform of New Zealand’s health and safety laws in more than 20 years. It delivers a system that strikes the right balance between safe workplaces for workers and unnecessary red tape on businesses,” Mr Woodhouse says.

The Government is to enable local communities, through councils, to decide whether retailers can open on Easter Sunday, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Woodhouse announced today.

“The current rules around shop trading over the Easter period are complex and relatively arbitrary. The law allows certain shops selling specific items to remain open, while others must close their doors.

“It also includes several historical exemptions which allow shops in areas such as Taupo to open on Easter Sunday, while those in Rotorua cannot.”

Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Woodhouse today introduced a new bill that will extend paid parental leave and strengthen the enforcement of employment standards.

“The Employment Standards Bill includes a package of measures to extend paid parental leave entitlements to more workers and increase the flexibility of the scheme,” Mr Woodhouse says. 

“The changes aim to better support families by recognising the diversity of modern work and family arrangements and making it easier for parents to stay connected to the workforce.”

Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Woodhouse has today welcomed the appointment of a new Chief, three new members and the reappointment of eight current members of the Employment Relations Authority (ERA).

Long serving member Jim Crichton has been appointed to the position of Chief of the ERA.

Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Woodhouse has welcomed today’s Select Committee report on the Health and Safety Reform Bill.

“The Committee’s report is an important milestone in the Government’s Working Safer reforms which are aimed at combatting New Zealand’s unacceptable workplace death and injury toll,” Mr Woodhouse says.

“It’s important to strike the right balance between safe workplaces for workers and unnecessary red tape on businesses and I’m confident we have landed in the right space.

Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Woodhouse today announced a package of measures to prevent unfair employment practices such as ‘zero-hour contracts’.

“New Zealand has a well-functioning labour market in general and our employment relations framework aims to strike the right balance between flexibility and certainty,” says Mr Woodhouse.

“However there are some practices that I believe are unnecessary and unacceptable for modern working arrangements.

Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety Michael Woodhouse today paid tribute to former Council of Trade Unions secretary Peter Conway who passed away yesterday.

“As the former Council of Trade Unions secretary Peter was an engaging, intelligent and passionate advocate for workers,” Mr Woodhouse says.

Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Woodhouse will travel to Geneva, Switzerland to represent the New Zealand Government at this year’s International Labour Conference on 8-9 June 2015.

“New Zealand has a positive and constructive relationship with the ILO and I look forward to this year’s conference,” Mr Woodhouse says.

“It is a great opportunity to share insights with my ministerial counterparts and ILO officials on our experiences in the Workplace Relations and Safety and Immigration portfolios.”

Paid parental leave payments will increase from 1 July 2015, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Woodhouse announced today.

The maximum weekly rate for eligible employees and self-employed parents will increase from $504.10 to $516.85 gross per week.

“The Government is committed to helping children get a good start in life and ensure that New Zealand’s parental leave framework better supports Kiwi families,” says Mr Woodhouse.

Investing $32 million of new operating expenditure in employment relations services over the next four years will help strengthen compliance with minimum employment standards, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Woodhouse says.

“Budget 2015 will increase the number of Labour Inspectors and strengthen education and information services to help manage and address breaches of employment law,” Mr Woodhouse says.

Additional support for families through an extension to Paid Parental Leave and an increase to the minimum wage comes into effect today, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Woodhouse says.

Paid Parental Leave will extend from 14 to 16 weeks today and by another two weeks next year, while further improvements to the scheme are also being progressed. The adult minimum wage will increase from $14.25 to $14.75 an hour from today and the starting-out and training hourly minimum wages will increase by 40 cents to $11.80 an hour.

Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Woodhouse today announced a package of measures to strengthen enforcement of minimum employment standards.

“Employers are the backbone of our economy and most do a great job in meeting their employment obligations, but there are a number of serious breaches occurring,” Mr Woodhouse says.

“Those who breach minimum employment standards have an unfair advantage over law abiding employers and it is unfair on employees who work hard to support their families.

Parliament has tonight passed a law which will see MPs pay move in line with changes to public sector salaries, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Woodhouse says.

“Under the Remuneration Authority (Members of Parliament Remuneration) Amendment Bill passed by Parliament this evening, the average annual percentage change in public sector pay, as measured by Statistics New Zealand’s Quarterly Employment Survey (QES), will now determine MPs’ pay rises,” Mr Woodhouse says.

Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei has again shown that not only does she not understand basic math, but she doesn’t understand her own pay slip, says Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety Michael Woodhouse.

“The Greens have calculated changes to base salary rather than total MP remuneration – which is what the Remuneration Authority considers and what the Government’s new policy will continue to assess. But even then, Ms Turei can’t get her basic facts right and has got the changes in base salaries wrong for the past seven years.

Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety Michael Woodhouse today announced Cabinet’s decision to change the process for how the Remuneration Authority reviews MPs pay.

“Today Cabinet agreed that the average annual percentage change in public sector pay, as measured by Statistics New Zealand’s Quarterly Employment Survey (QES), will from now on determine MPs’ pay rises,” Mr Woodhouse says.

“Using the QES public sector index means that MPs pay will increase in line with average public sector salary movements.

Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Woodhouse today announced the adult minimum wage will increase from $14.25 to $14.75 an hour from 1 April.

The starting-out and training hourly minimum wages will increase by 40 cents to $11.80 an hour, as this is set at 80 per cent of the adult minimum wage.

“The Government has taken great care in setting these wage rates to ensure we maintain the balance between protecting our lowest paid workers and ensuring jobs are not lost,” says Mr Woodhouse.

Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Woodhouse today welcomed the launch of the government’s Safer Farms programme.

Safer Farms is a multi-year programme designed by farmers and the wider agricultural sector, WorkSafe New Zealand and the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC).

“The death and injury rate behind the farm gate is simply unacceptable. Someone is killed nearly every fortnight - this needs to change,” Mr Woodhouse says.