Bill of rights and left

By LIBBY MIDDLEBROOK

For the first time in nine years a Labour-led Government is running the country. Elected partly on the basis that it would dump the Employment Contracts Act in favour of worker-friendly legislation, there is a perception that the boot is now on the other foot.

The move has employers fearing a return to the 1980s-style of heavy-handed unionism - while unions are enjoying a resurgence in power and popularity.

Since Labour was elected there seems to have been a rash of industrial activity throughout the country, although there are so far no figures for the 2000 year to confirm this.

Last year there were 32 stoppages - the fewest since 1935.

The big question is whether work relations will deteriorate and militancy at the coal face increase when the Employment Relations Bill replaces the act in August.

"If employers have been treating their staff reasonably well over the last nine years then I don't think they've got anything to fear. The villains will be dealt to, however, and so they bloody well should be," says National Distribution Union national secretary Mike Jackson.

Villains or champions, the vast majority of employers have been getting their knickers in a twist over the proposed change in employment legislation since the election race last year. Their concerns are vastly different from one to another, ranging from tax implications to the heightened threat of industrial action.

Many say unemployment will rise, while others believe the "closer relationships" formed between staff and bosses during recent times will go down the gurgler once the new legislation is in place.

"The fact that business confidence has fallen 50 per cent from when the bill was first introduced I think is a fairly good indication that business is concerned about what's going on," said Employers Federation chief executive Anne Knowles. "It's very widespread, and the more people understand about the implications of the bill the more concerned they are becoming. One of the big issues is industrial action."

On the flipside, unions and many workers are champing at the bit to see the new legislation in place. Hefty increases in union registrations are being reported, together with a new-found confidence when it comes to collective contract negotiations and signing up as a union member.

While strikes have been popping up like pimples around the country during the past few months, union delegates say they are no indication of what is to come.

Employers who have treated their workers fairly and have not sought to exploit them under the Employment Contracts Act can rest easy, says Ross Wilson, president of the Council of Trade Unions.

"I don't think union officials are that unrealistic to think that they're going to be able to win huge demands of employers simply because the circumstances have changed. I don't think the changes are that significant."

Earlier in the year, Pan Pacific Forests' 135 wood sector workers threatened to stop work for 24 hours once a fortnight in a bid to secure extra provisions in their superannuation scheme and to clarify redundancy agreements. While the contract was settled before action went ahead, the Hawkes Bay company's wood sector union delegate said workers did not threaten to strike because of the pending changes in employment legislation. It was simply because their company was becoming more profitable and their contract had been rolled over the previous year.

"A lot of the propaganda is being put out by employers about industrial action going back to the old days.

"At the end of the day, workers just want to do their job and collect their pay checks at the end of the week," Mr Dawson said.

He says the only effect the proposed legislation has had on Pan Pacific's wood sector workers is to make them feel more optimistic.

Some large local employers have not reported any shift in workplace relations between staff and management since the Labour Government was voted in and the bill reared its head.

After two days of negotiations with union staff and workers, on May 5 Woolworths New Zealand signed an employment contract covering more than 6000 staff.

"We had some individual issues, but the negotiations went well, it was a win-win for both parties," said Woolworths spokeswoman Mary Marshall.

The company, which also operates Big Fresh and Price Chopper, has not experienced any industrial action during the past nine years. While the company does have some concerns regarding the new legislation, Ms Marshall does not expect the company's financial performance or employment relations to suffer under the bill.

"I don't believe it's going to have a great impact. There will be cost issues in terms of administration in keeping with the act, but we're not all that concerned about it really."

It could be argued that much of the opposition to the bill is being driven by employers who have not treated their workers fairly during the past decade, says Gilbert Ullrich, managing director of Ullrich Aluminium.

The company, which employs more than 200 on its Auckland and Hamilton sites, has just signed a two-year contract with employees.

"There's a lot of employers out there who are upset about the changes because, perhaps, they haven't been treating their staff all that well. I don't think it's going backwards, we're just got to be fair about things. I'd prefer to see things a little bit more even," Mr Ullrich says.

"I know of one employer who's jumping up and down about it. He used to have 63 staff and now he's just got three. He brings people in on a contract basis when he needs them and he says he's never made so much money. Of course he's worried."

Meanwhile, some of the country's largest unions have reported huge leaps in registration numbers since the beginning of the year. The National Distribution Union has had a 100 per cent increase.

The union, which represents more than 20,000 retail, forestry, textile and transport workers, has doubled new registrations with more than 1200 this year.

"There's been a huge shift. Inquiries since the beginning of the year have been quite high," Mr Jackson says.

"Before the last election, we couldn't go and see workers because we weren't allowed to get on the sites.

"Many workers who did want to talk to us had to do it after hours. They felt it was immoral to join the union because the employers didn't want them to.

"That's all changing. We've had workers openly ringing us up to join the union and inviting us to talk. They're a lot more blatant about it, there's a lot less fear."

The Engineers, Printing and Manufacturing Union - the country's largest union, with more than 60,000 members - has also seen registrations increase since the election. The union's national secretary-elect, Andrew Little, said there had been about 15 per cent more inquiries following the change in Government, and officials had been spending more time in the workplace talking to new recruits.

"People definitely feel like it's okay to join the union now," said Mr Little, who will be in Nelson next week to talk to workers about union membership.

"There's a big change in the way people are talking about unions publicly and I think that's giving workers affirmation to join up."

The Public Services Association, which has around 45,000 members, reports similar activity in registration numbers. National secretary Richard Wagstaff said officials were also expecting improved relationships with employers.

"Some employers are anti, but there's a good number out there who are accepting of the changes. We are certainly seeing a much warmer and positive response than we had six months ago."

The Employers Federation is unequivocally opposed to the law change. Through the bill's submission process, which closed on May 3, the federation, representing more than 76,000 entities, has sought to expose every aspect of the bill that could diminish business flexibility and competitiveness.

"The whole concept of being able to continue to provide employment can only come from the private sector, it's not unions or the Government that create jobs. I guess at the end of the day it comes down to a balance of what we want as a country ... fewer people in jobs or more people?" Ms Knowles said.

Carter Holt Harvey's chief executive of human resources, Heather Miles, said the company's site managers would have up to 20 per cent more work to do because of the legislation.

She said at least 80 managerial staff would have to be trained during the next few months to gain the necessary negotiation skills to work under the bill.

"We haven't had any increase in problems with workers yet; we have pretty good relationships with our staff. There is the potential for much more industrial action, particularly in light of not being able to replace striking workers."

Carter Holt employs around 8000 workers in New Zealand. "Basically, what we're facing is more organised labour, which means the balance of power will shift back to the workers."