Pacific workers more at risk from employment law changes - union

There are fears changes to employment law may make working conditions harder for Pacific workers.

This comes as the government has clarified the main criteria for what makes a contractor versus an employee.

Council of Trade Unions President Richard Wagstaff says the changes don't leave room for workers to negotiate their status, which could be taken advantage of.

“You particularly need to think of how vulnerable people are when they go for a job; English may not even be your first language, you're told to sign here on the contract.

“You may be signing something that really is unlawful and improper, but the suggestion is that you're not able to challenge that is bad policy, which just fundamentally seems quite wrong.

The criteria for proposed legislation include a written agreement specifying they are an independent contractor, and the business cannot dictate when the worker must be available or stop them from taking on other work outside of their agreed contract.

Speaking to William Terite on Pacific Mornings, Wagstaff said the test moves the goalpost towards business interests and away from basic rights, which may have a worse impact on Pacific workers.

“If you're an employee, you are entitled to minimums, minimum wages, holidays, sick leave, and so on. If you're a contractor, you have no minimums.

“I have no doubt that Pacific workers will be at the sharp end of that, given the kinds of employment relations that we see for people in more vulnerable work, which Pacific people tend to be in.

“When there is competition for work, you can imagine employers saying, ‘Do you want to be a contractor if you want a job? Take it or leave it’, and you'll have people who are desperate and they’ll take it.”

Green party spokesperson for workplace relations Teanau Tuiono called the changes an “assault on workers’ rights” that would put “a brick wall between the most vulnerable workers and the rights that belong to them.”

“This is something that quite clearly plays directly into the hands of companies looking to cut corners and boost profit margins at the expense of our workers - by denying people sick pay, holiday pay, and job security.

“These changes would also allow companies to limit the number of people they employ on full-time contracts and instead rely on flimsy working arrangements that have less protections and less accountability.”

Workers at a meat processing plant. Photo/File

A solution to a grey area

The announcement comes after four Uber drivers won a landmark case to be classed as employees.

Workplace Relations Minister Brooke van Velden said the new approach will provide businesses more certainty, and also allow businesses to offer better terms and conditions to their contractors.

"I believe these changes could improve conditions for some contractors, reduce risk for firms, and help ensure businesses compete on quality, price and productivity."

However, Wagstaff said this could also be used by businesses to drag down employment standards.

“Once competitive businesses are competing with businesses who pay even lower, they have to go lower to keep up, and that's the impact of lowering standards and that's what we're seeing here.

“We've already seen the minimum wage fall behind inflation, we've seen the removal of 90-day trials, removal of fair pay agreements and so on.

“You could easily have unscrupulous employers employing large numbers of workers on a contract rather than an employment agreement, most people wouldn't know the difference, and then finding themselves with no rights at all and no minimum rights.”