Newsletter No. 25
AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2004
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NZ workers win holidays: Unions push for better work life balance The New Zealand Labour government has promised unions that it will pass a law for four weeks paid annual leave for all workers, in its next term of office. The government told the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions not to expect the law to come into force at least till after 2007, but the unions still hail the government’s commitment to extra leave as a victory. NZCTU President Ross Wilson said he was proud of the unions’ achievement, given they had pushed the government on the issue for the past five years, yet it was not on the Labour Party platform in 1999 or 2002 (‘Four Weeks Holiday a Huge Boost for Working Families’ http://union.org.nz 10.11.03). Mr Wilson asserted that the extra paid leave was an ‘investment in people’ and the business community should recognise that, in times where work had greatly intensified, economic growth had been good and wage increases had been small. Prime Minister Helen Clark acknowledged the importance of adequate annual leave to ensure workers had proper rest and time for families and community. Her statement sparked howls of outrage from the conservative National Party opposition and the employers’ peak association, Business New Zealand, who accused the government of pushing an anti-business agenda that would cost the country hundreds of millions of dollars (‘Four weeks leave “investment in people”’ NZCTU 24.10.03). Assuming a Labour Party victory at the next election, which is no certainty, the attainment of four weeks paid annual leave as an across-the-workforce law, is a step in the right direction for NZ workers, after suffering years of individual contracts and workplace-level bargaining. The demand for four weeks leave, which only brings New Zealand workers to a level already enjoyed by workers in many other economies, is part of a broader agenda NZ trade unions are advancing, to gain a better work-life balance for working people. This campaign highlights short staffing, low pay, long hours, job insecurity, poor leave access and lack of childcare as the main barriers workers experience in balancing work with the rest of their lives. With commitment and organisation New Zealand workers will make significant gains on these fronts over the next few years, inspiring unionists in other countries. This will be despite the opposition of business interests who will try to block these gains. |