New rulebook governs the way we work

What the Employment Relations Act will mean to workers and employers ... AUDREY YOUNG looks at the basics of the new law passed yesterday in Parliament.

EMPLOYEES

Do I have to join a union?

No. But only unions can negotiate collective contracts, and they are unlikely to want to do that on behalf of non-union members.

You can form a union but it must have at least 15 members, although they don't have to all be at at the same workplace. It must meet the provisions of the Incorporated Societies Act, be democratic and be independent of the employer.

What if I want to negotiate collectively but don't want to join the union?

Groups of employees can negotiate together, but the end result cannot be a collective agreement. You will have an individual agreement.

They may be a bunch of identical individual agreements, but they will still be individual agreements. And you will not be able to strike in support of your contract claims. That right is reserved for those bargaining for collective agreements.

What will happen if I start a new job?

If the workplace has a collective agreement covering your work, the employer must tell you about it. If you don't join the collective, you will be covered by an individual agreement on the same terms and conditions of that collective for 30 days. You can also negotiate better rates.

If your workplace doesn't have a collective agreement, you can negotiate immediately, but the employer must give you a written agreement and allow you time to seek advice about it.

Do I have to accept the union rate?

No. As now, if you are in a collective agreement, you can negotiate extra money and terms, as long as they don't conflict with the collective.

Can a court change my status from a contractor to an employee?

Only if you successfully take the case to court or have agreed to add your name to a group action - and your employer has been consulted.

If you are a real estate agent, a share milker or a voluntary worker, you are definitely not an employee.

Will it be easier to strike?

The new law is more conducive to union bargaining, but it has imposed a new condition for striking - you cannot strike for at least 40 days after bargaining has been initiated on the new agreement.

At present, you may strike as soon as your contract expires. Under the new law, a free mediation service can also be used to sort out disputes before they are taken through the legal channels - the Employment Relations Authority and the Employment Court.

When are strikes illegal?

If your current collective agreement has not expired and your strike is not a health and safety issue; if the strike starts fewer than 40 days from the start of bargaining for a new agreement; if it involves a personal dispute; if it is over a social or political issue, such as the Fiji coup; if you work in an essential industry and the required notice has not been given.

Essential industries need 14 days' notice of a strike. These include water supply, production and supply of electricity, petrol and gas, firefighting, interisland ferries, ambulance services, airlines, hospitals, medicine manufacture, prisons and dairy production.

Can I go out in a sympathy strike for workers on another site?

No. But union members in two or more workplaces can strike in a bid to get their employers to agree to a single multi-employer agreement, as long as the employees are not covered by a current agreement.

So one company's pilots could not strike in support of another company's pilots. But if both pilot groups wanted a joint collective agreement and their employers refused to negotiate one, both groups could strike at the same time in support of getting the multi-employer contract.

How will my contract change on October 2 when the new law takes effect?

It won't. Contracts - called agreements under the new law - will continue in force, even if you are a non-union member on a collective contract. But when the contract comes up for renewal, you will have to go on to an individual agreement or join the union if you want to stay with the new collective agreement.

Am I covered by a collective agreement after it expires?

Yes, for up to one year if the union started collective bargaining to replace it before it expired.

EMPLOYERS

Do I have to deal with unions?

Yes, if your employees so choose. And your dealings must be reasonable, or at least not done in a way that could be breaching good faith.

A code of good faith will be established to set guidelines for what's acceptable and what's not. But you must agree to talk to the nominated union if it has initiated talks, you must respond to claims, and you cannot simply make an offer and say "take it or leave it." But you are not required to settle an agreement.

Who decides I'm not acting in good faith or breaching other parts of the act, and what is the punishment?

The Employment Relations Authority and the Employment Court can issue compliance orders and in extreme cases, failure to comply can be punished with a prison term of three months, a $40,000 fine, and seizure of property.

Do I have to let the union into my workplace?

Yes, even if you have no union members. Union representatives can enter workplaces as long as it is at a reasonable time and has regard to operation of the business and to security, health and safety requirements. They can enter to recruit new members if they have a reasonable belief that workers covered by their membership rules might be on the site, to discuss union business with members and to bargain or monitor collective agreements.

Do I have to collect union fees from my employees?

Yes, unless you have negotiated an exception clause in the collective agreement.

Under the act your employees are also entitled to employment relations education leave - three days a year for each workplace with up to five fulltime equivalent workers in the union and five days for each with between five and 50 in the union.

Union members are also entitled to two paid one-hour stopwork meetings a year, but the union must give you 14 days' notice and ensure your business is maintained.

In a strike over a collective agreement, can I order existing workers, or hire new workers, to cover the work done by the strikers?

You can request existing employees to do the work but you cannot order them to do it. You can hire a new person only on the grounds of safety or health, and only for the period of the strike.

Can my employees and I continue to negotiate fixed-term agreements?

Yes, as long as the reasons for ending the agreement are clear at the outset.

Do I have to supply company information if the union demands it during negotiations?

Yes, the union and you can seek information to back up claims and responses. The requests must be in writing and if you think the information is too confidential to put on the table, you can give it to a mutually acceptable person to decide whether it should be revealed.

Any such information disclosed during bargaining must not be given to others, even to the union members on whose behalf the bargaining is being conducted.

Am I personally liable as a director of a company for wages owed when the company winds up?

Only if you have been deliberately not paying the minimum wage and correct holiday pay. It is a provision aimed at sweat-shops. Only labour inspectors can take a prosecution.

What happens to my employees' agreements if I sell my business or contract out the work they are doing?

The act does not stipulate what the agreement must say, but it says you must address that possibility in any collective agreement.

Can the union terminate the contract negotiated under the old law and force me to start negotiating under the new law?

If your employees' present collective contract expires after July 2001, you or the union can after October 2 call for a ballot of union members on whether the contract should expire early, on July 1, 2001.

AT WORK

* New Zealand has about 260,000 businesses.

* Eighty-six per cent have five or fewer employees.

* Six per cent have six to nine employees.

* Seven per cent have 10 to 49 employees.

* New Zealand has about 1.7 million employees.

* About 25 per cent are estimated to work under collective contracts, 27 per cent under individual contracts.

* There are 83 unions representing 17.7 per cent of the workforce (compared with 80 unions representing 41.5 per cent of the workforce in 1991 before the Employment Contracts Act).

* Industrial stoppages in past year, 33; in the year before the ECA, 115.