Prebble turns to Greens in employment bill fight

By KARYN SCHERER

Act leader Richard Prebble is pinning his hopes on the Green Party in a last-ditch attempt to stymie the Employment Relations Bill.

Mr Prebble, a member of the select committee that has been considering the contentious bill, urged employers at an Auckland Chamber of Commerce breakfast yesterday to lobby Green MPs over the issue.

Act intends targeting Greens co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons, claiming she has no mandate from her Coromandel electorate to vote for the bill.

"If enough messages, faxes, e-mails and letters are sent to the Green MPs, the Greens may buckle."

The speech, billed as a preview of likely changes to the bill, in fact revealed little employers did not already know.

Finance Minister Michael Cullen has already hinted at changes such as softening clauses forcing independent contractors to become employees, discouraging fixed-term contracts and requiring companies to open their books to unions. Minor changes are also likely to be made to a clause making directors personally liable for wages.

A leaked Labour Department report has also indicated that the Government will back down on its insistence that employers guarantee employment for the term of a collective agreement, plus an extra year. It has also recommended unions not be allowed to have as few as two members, as originally suggested.

Mr Prebble predicted the minimum number of members would be 15, "which is not a bad figure."

He said the committee had also looked very carefully at the final wording of a clause which covers employees wanting to switch from an individual to a collective contract.

Employers and unions have raised concerns that employees could "double dip" by claiming overtime and penal payments on top of already-agreed salaries.

Mr Prebble said the fundamental issues that employers were concerned about would not change.

The bill's final draft is expected to be shown to Labour and Alliance MPs next week, and Mr Prebble predicts it will be rushed through Parliament to take effect in October.