Employer Bulletin | 30 June

The Government has passed a change to the Employment Relations Act that reinstates the ability for employers to make pay deductions during partial strikes – making the system fairer for all, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden announced today.

“These changes will help both employers and unions to return to the bargaining table and restores the law to what it was before the previous government removed this option in 2018.

“I acknowledge the right of workers to strike in support of their collective bargaining claims, the right to strike remains,” says Ms van Velden. “The changes were needed to ensure a fairer bargaining process and minimise the disruption partial strikes have caused to public and customer services.

“The key benefit for all workers and the public is less disruption to our communities – partial strikes had serious impacts on Kiwi families, students, patients, and other workers across our workplaces,” says Ms van Velden. 

Some of the impacts included MRI and nuclear medicine technologists limiting scans, around 50 percent fewer procedures were done. That meant delays in early cancer treatment, growing waitlists, increased outsourcing costs and pressure on front-line staff to pick up the work of others participating in the partial strikes.

In today’s Bulletin:

• Employer wrongly relied on abandonment to end employment
• Migrant exploitation punished by Authority
• Dismissal justified but with $20,000 compensation awarded for disadvantage claims
• Employee claim for unpaid notice period successful
• Eight news updates of interest for employers including: NZ law change restores balance - fairer rules for partial strikes; Invest New Zealand legislation passes; Changes coming to modernise ACC regulations; Gross domestic product: March 2025 quarter; Strengthening integrity of immigration system; Endeavour Fund 2025: Announcing Smart Ideas research projects; Horticulture sector in the spotlight, and Supermarkets warned about unfair practices.
• Eight bills open for submission

If you have any questions, about this case or other employment relation matters, call the Advice Line team on 0800 800 362.