THE PRESS TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 1986. A change for unions

Press, 30 September 1986, Page 16

THE PRESS TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 1986. A change for unions

The most fundamental change in the Government’s labour relations policy, released yesterday, is that there will be a minimum size of 1000 members for any one union. About half of the 233 registered unions in New Zealand have fewer members. This means that there will be extensive amalgamations. The second most important change is the requirement that union officials be elected at least every five years. The elections will be by secret postal ballot. The result of these changes should be that there will be fewer, stronger, and more democratic unions.

The unions will need to be stronger financially, because much more will be expected from them. The Government will be less active in the industrial relations field. Unions and employers will be required to enforce awards; Department of Labour officials will no longer have that role. Unions and employers will have to bear the costs of negotiations. They will no longer be able to send the bill for travel and accommodation for assessors to the Labour Department. Unions will charge fees which cover such costs. It might also mean that there will be pressures to settle earlier.

The early reports of the policy indicate that there will not be second tier bargaining as such. When national awards are settled, some firms or industries arrive at settlements above the national wages figure. Under the new policy unions will have to decide whether a particular employer would be inside or outside the award negotiations. If outside, then the provisions of the award system will not apply. A way round this is cumbersome but possible: the house or site agreement would incorporate all the

provisions of the award, as well as other provisions. The change does allow for some flexibility.

That might be the rub. Neither unions nor employers have shown themselves flexible in industrial relations. Will they suddenly become so under new laws? What the Government hopes for is that unions and employers will take their responsibilities seriously and have trained and able people to represent them. Both unions and employers should feel flattered that so much trust is put in them. Observers will watch with a highly interested if somewhat sceptical eye.

The main catch-cry for industrial relations has been the deregulation of the labour market. The path advocated by many, including the National Party last week, has been that of the introduction of voluntary unionism. The Government has made provision for voluntary unionism only if a majority of the unionists want it. Employers will be able to raise the question of voluntary unionism in award negotiations and may force unions to have secret ballots on the question every few years. This is not ideal. It may be as much as can be accomplished. The other catch-cry has been site agreements. These have not been ruled out, but there are several subtle conditions attached. It could be argued that the national awards system has been left intact, yet the system is a little more flexible, under this policy, than it was. This Government has taken a jack-hammer to tackle certain issues in New Zealand: this time its instrument has been more like a carving chisel. It will be a while before the full shape of the new creature will be seen, and perhaps longer to know if the shape will stay that way.