Employers condemn bill

Press, 16 April 1986, Page 9

Employers condemn bill

The Union Representatives Education Leave Bill will make good industrial relations in the next decade almost impossible, according to the director of the Canterbury Employers’ Association, Mr Colin Mclnnes. Members of the association were unhappy about provisions of the bill and believed that the Government should either withdraw it or stop it from

proceeding in its present form, he said. “Local employers want this bill knocked on the head. The bill does not provide for balanced industrial relations training but training approved by the trade union movement for its members at the expense of the employers.”

Mr Mclnness said that balanced training was necessary for good indus-

trial relations. “Employers want good industrial relations over the next decade. This bill does not provide the means to achieve this end.” Employers were also concerned about the compulsory nature of the proposed legislation and the additional economic burden placed on them, he said.