Proposed changes to Holidays Act will make life harder for workers – Teanau Tuiono

Teanau Tuiono is a Green list MP based in Manawatū. He is the party’s spokesman on workplace relations and safety.

OPINION

Everyone deserves good work, to work under fair conditions – and that means workers should have enough leave available to look after their health and wellbeing and live a meaningful, fulfilling life.

Those who are sick should be supported to stay at home and not spread sickness around workplaces. It sounds obvious, right? But really, it’s far from a given when we consider the way some employers treat their employees. A lot of workers feel pressure not to take sick leave for fear of ramifications like losing pay or even their job. This is a widespread problem, and yet the Government has just decided to make it worse.

Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden has announced plans to tinker with sick leave and annual leave entitlements under the guise of simplifying the Holidays Act. The proposal would have the impact of reducing sick leave for people who work part-time.

Coming after recent attacks on employees’ rights such as repealing Fair Pay Agreement legislation and cutting back on pay retention and recruitment for bus drivers, the planned change to sick leave is another example of how the coalition is both unapologetic and unequivocal in administering policies which make life harder for workers.

Our economy has been built upon the backs of our workers, and stripping them of sick leave would be a slap in the face, reducing the productivity of our workforce and draining workers’ morale. I’m concerned this review into the Holidays Act will be used as a platform to further the anti-worker agenda that undermines our communities and short-changes our people.

If the Government continues on its current trajectory, an erosion of workers’ rights and a decay in the balance between employer and employee will become a core legacy of this coalition and hinder our country with more social problems it must then grapple with in coming years.

More must be done to support our workers. The Green Party campaigned on five weeks of annual leave for everyone so that people could have more time to connect with their whānau, communities and things that matter to them. We also continue to advocate for better support for workers like bus drivers, who work split shifts under conditions that must be adequately compensated for.

A glaring omission from Government communications in relation to this review is the perspective of workers. At the very least, the Government can ensure it is engaging with workers and their unions, not just business.

Part-time workers, who are generally paid less and have fewer choices regarding taking time off, often have to juggle work with other duties, such as caregiving. This means that any changes will affect Māori, Pasifika, women, and other vulnerable workers more, as they are more likely to be in part-time or insecure work.

We must keep fighting for everyone in Aotearoa to have access to strong rights, secure work and decent pay to ensure workers can thrive.