bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Lost in Transition? Employment and Family Change for Mid-Life Men
Authors: Callister Paul
Published: April 2018

Under the provocative title ‘Useless, jobless men – the social blight of our age’?, a May 2010 British newspaper article posed the question as to whether the UK benefits system has produced an ‘emasculated’ generation of men who can find neither work nor a wife. Informed by a review of international literature, we use census, HLFS and benefit data to explore these issues within a New Zealand context. We demonstrate how a group of mid life males on the margins of work and family life have emerged in New Zealand and show how this has been drivenbyanumberofchangesinlabourmarkets,particularlyinrelationtothelowskilled; inmarriagemarkets;andthroughtheworkingsof the benefit system. Although our research suggests that the size of this marginalised group is relatively small, the men we are concerned about are at the heart of a number of difficult contemporary policy issues such as the rise in disability benefit receipt and incarceration. Historically, low skilled males were a major focus of policy Â­ the breadwinner model Â­ which focussed on reinforcing the social expectation that men’s role was in work and married. We suggest there now needs to be a renewed policy focus on this group. However rather than attempting to return the world to the 1950s, the task for policy makers is to consider how best to create policy settings that are effective for the contemporary structure of work and family life.
Residential sorting, neighbourhood effects and employment
Authors: Morrison Philip S.
Published: April 2018

Summary of Workshop at 14th Conference on Labour Employment and Work in New Zealand, 30 November, 2011.
Sex Ratios, Labour Markets and Partnering: Mid 1800s to 2006
Authors: Callister Paul , Didham Robert
Published: April 2018

In recent years the existence of an Antipodean ‘man drought’ has attracted considerable media attention. Australian demographer Bernard Salt first used this term in 2005 when highlighting unusual sex ratios in each country’s census. It has been suggested this ‘drought’ affects the ability of women to find male partners. However, unusual sex ratios are not new in New Zealand. In the early period of colonisation there was a shortage of women. Sex ratios are determined by three fundamental factors: births, deaths and migration, with migration having a particularly strong effect among the younger working age groups. Labour market demand has historically driven gendered migration flows and continues to do so. Until the middle of the 20th century New Zealand’s workforce was mostly male, of European ethnicity, and working in primary or manufacturing industries. The rise of service industries and increasing numbers of women in paid work has significantly changed the nature of the workforce. Absolute sex ratios potentially affect living arrangements. But, based on the idea that most women still seek male breadwinners as partners, United States researchers have suggested another important ratio: that of the number of employed men to the total number of women. We therefore consider long term changes in this ratio. Finally, we examine how living arrangements have changed from the mid 1800s through to 2006.
Ageing in Place: Retirement Intentions of New Zealand Nurses Aged 50+
Authors: Walker Leonie , Clendon Jill
Published: April 2018

Aims: The aim of the Late Career Nurse research project was to determine the characteristics of nurses working in New Zealand who were born before 1960; their experiences in the workplace; their perceptions of their health and their retirement intentions. This paper reports on the retirement intentions of regulated nurses aged over 50 in the New Zealand workforce.

Background: The mean ages of registered nurses in New Zealand has been rising steadily, and 40% are now aged fifty or over (Nursing Council New Zealand 2011) While there is a substantial international literature on the phenomenon and consequences of the ageing nursing workforce, it is unknown whether international experience will predict future nurse behaviour in New Zealand, or how this may impact on nursing workforce modelling or planning.

Method: An anonymous on-line survey was emailed to eligible NZNO 1 nurse members over 50 years old in February and March 2012. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of the 3273 responses received were undertaken.

Results/findings: New Zealand nursing age demographics have been confirmed and reflected in the respondents to the survey. In concordance with the international literature, good health, access to flexible working options, safe staffing levels and choice of shifts were all very important to older nurses. Evidence of ageism and a bullying culture towards older nurses was reported. Better pay levels were particularly important to younger late career nurses (age 50-55). Specific to New Zealand, lack of retirement funds may delay retirement, and migration to Australia may exacerbate
shortages and skill/experience deficits.

Conclusions: The New Zealand nursing workforce will be vulnerable to skill and experience shortages if as indicated in this study, 57.2% of nurses aged over 50 retire within the next 10 years, and around 30% within the next 2-5 years. Adoption of measures to ensure better choice of shifts, and continued access to flexible or decreased hours is required, along with less physically demanding work options and roles that recognise and utilise the knowledge, skills and experience of older nurses. These measures have the potential to enable older nurses to continue to contribute for longer to the workforce, albeit on a more part time basis. Better pay, better rostering and safer staffing levels have the potential particularly to reduce the attrition seen in the early to late fifties, and these are urgently advocated. Longer term, access to better retirement planning and financial advice would decrease a considerable source of distress and reduce the numbers of older nurses for whom continuing to work despite ill health is not an option.
The Impact of Wage Subsidies on Jobseekers' Outcomes and Firm Employment
Authors: Crichton Sarah , Maré Dave C.
Published: April 2018

Wage subsidies are commonly used to assist disadvantaged jobseekers into employment. If effective they can contribute to reducing long-term benefit dependence. The study examines the impact of wage subsidies on assisted jobseekers and on the firms that employ them. It focuses on hiring subsidies granted over the period of January 2003 to December 2007 and outcomes up to December 2010, and draws on administrative and tax data held by Statistics New Zealand as part of the ‘Integrated Data Infrastructure’ prototype. Outcomes for assisted jobseekers are compared to those of comparable jobseekers using propensity matching methods. Similarly, propensity-matching is used to compare employment and earnings growth in firms that hire subsidised workers to growth in otherwise comparable firms. Overall we find that starting a subsidised job leads to significant employment and earning benefits for assisted jobseekers over several years. Subsidised workers are disproportionately hired into expanding firms, though we cannot determine whether the expansion would have occurred in the absence of the subsidy.
A Living Wage - The Current New Zealand Campaign and the International Background
Authors: Hyman Prue
Published: April 2018

In a paper to LEW10, I asked why the concept of a living wage, formerly prevalent in New Zealand discourse, was no longer a common slogan – and suggested that it might be politic for it to be revived as a campaigning tool in the context of overseas activity. Exactly ten years later, such a campaign, led by the Service and Food Workers Union (SFWU) and with widespread union and community group support, is well under way, inspired partly by successes overseas. For example, the London Olympics used the living wage principle, while many UK local government authorities including the Greater London Council declare themselves to be living wage employers. Many other countries also have active campaigns and jurisdictions where living wages have been adopted.

This paper will first discuss the political, economic, social and industrial relations context and rationales for such a campaign and the progress to date in New Zealand. It will then move on to the definitional, theoretical and practical issues in establishing the quantum of a living wage above the minimum wage, drawing on relevant overseas literature and experience. It will also discuss opposition based on lack of affordability, interference with the market, and employment implications.

Basic definitions are variations on the theme that a living wage represents a minimum income required for a ‘decent livelihood’, to include the costs of paid work, particularly child care and transport/other directly attributable costs. The major methods of establishing a living wage are similar to those for establishing a poverty line, but must include the in work costs as well as often being based on a slightly more generous standard to ensure that being in paid work has some material benefit above social security minimum standards, in addition to its intrinsic benefits. There are therefore two common methods for calculating a living wage. The first uses relativities to average or median incomes, commonly 60% of the median (the NZ Poverty Measurement Study used 60% of median, equivalent, disposable, household income). The second approach builds up household budgets using one or ideally both of two approaches - published data from expenditure surveys and focus group discussions. Reconciliation or averaging of the two approaches, which often lead to fairly similar results, is common. This paper will discuss these methods, together with issues related to different household structures and regional differences, which make the living wage conceptually and practically more complex than a minimum wage.

Finally, the paper will discuss the relationships, both positive and with some tensions, between the living wage campaign and various other social justice initiatives in the labour market and society generally – to improve paid parental leave, oppose changes to the welfare system, reduce child and general poverty, and reverse the thirty year increase in inequality
In Support of a 'Living Wage': Research on International and Danish Trends and Issues of 'Working Poor'.
Authors: Rasmussen Erling , Lind Jens
Published: April 2018

In May 2012, a campaign started in support of a New Zealand ‘living wage’. This happened in light of many New Zealand workers receiving wages at or just above the statutory minimum wage and that several fast-growing sectors continue to establish many low paid jobs. While the paper’s starting point is the New Zealand ‘living wage’ debate, the issues discussed have been part of international debates about the existence and consequences of low paid work. These debates have highlighted that some countries have been better at containing low paid work. On this background, this paper focuses on the trends and issues surrounding ‘working poor’ in Denmark. As detailed, the Danish labour market has succeeded in having a relatively low level of ‘working poor’. This has even happened in several service sector industries renowned for their propensity to create low paying jobs. However, the paper also questions the stability of the so-called Danish Model based on an open labour market with large in- and outflows of migrants and with a reliance on collective bargaining/agreements, with limit state regulation and, in particular, no statutory minimum wage.
Gender & Trade Unions Database: A Basis for Change?
Authors: Douglas Karen , Jess Carol
Published: April 2018

This paper proposes that raising awareness of gender deficits in trade union leadership is required to highlight the need for change in trade union leadership and representation, if renewal is to be effective. The writers discuss in particular a project by a research group under the auspices of the Global Labour University to develop an international database on women in trade unions. This database is intended to be both a tool to highlight where change is needed and to measure when, and if, change is made. There is a discussion of the pilot of this database during 2012, and the plans for the future made by the research group.
Skills and International Migration in New Zealand
Authors: Tausi Manuila
Published: April 2018

A significant focus of immigration policy in New Zealand is on attracting and retaining skilled migrants by ensuring that they settle well in New Zealand. However, it is well known that immigration is not always a permanent decision and many migrants choose to leave after a period in the host country either returning to their home country or moving onward to another country. For the first time in New Zealand, information on migrants who were approved residence in New Zealand from 1998 to 2011 were matched with arrival and departure information from Statistics New Zealand to provide a more complete picture of their mobility patterns. This paper presents findings from this study with a focus on the skills associated with the subsequent movements of these migrants, in conjunction with the movements of the New Zealand-born population who travelled in the same period.
The Effects of Supervisor Work-Family Support on Indigenous Employees: A Study of Job and Health Outcomes
Authors: Brougham David , Haar Jarrod
Published: April 2018

Support from work and non-work sources is highly important for employee well-being and job outcomes. However, few studies have explored social support from both domains. Furthermore, workplace studies on indigenous employees are severely under researched. Based on survey data from 260 Māori (the indigenous people of New Zealand) employees, we conducted analysis using structural equation modeling, to test supervisor work-family support (SWFS) and whānau (extended family) support towards well-being and job outcomes. Overall, findings show that SWFS and whānau support both predict job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion, while SWFS also directly predicts turnover intentions. In turn, job satisfaction significantly predicts all outcomes: our study shows that it mediates the influence of support on outcomes. Findings indicate that support from both work and home (extended family) is likely to be highly beneficial towards the broad range of job outcomes investigated for Māori employees, especially through enhancing job satisfaction.
Do Managers Care?
Authors: Bryson Jane , Daellenbach Urs
Published: April 2018

Addicts of reality television who are also interested in labour, employment and work will no doubt have watched “Undercover Boss” in a combination of stunned disbelief and awe as formerly unconnected managers are exposed to a taste of workplace reality when they take on the role of an entry level worker in their own organisation. What the best of these undercover bosses discover is a measure of empathy with the circumstances of their workers and other stakeholders in their businesses. Surprisingly empathy is a factor which has received relatively little attention in business and workplace research. In recent research we conducted in New Zealand SMEs on another topic we identified fascinating examples of managerial empathy impacting the organisation’s business practices, strategy and behaviour towards workers, customers, suppliers and others. In this paper we report these examples of managerial empathy and discuss their implications for managers, workplaces and future research.
Comparing Socio-Spatial Mobility and Its Outcomes in Australia and New Zealand
Authors: Clark William A. V.
Published: April 2018

Households choose places from a hierarchy of options defined by social, economic and environmental contexts and these choices are conditioned by age, family status and economic contexts. While we know a good deal about the choice processes we know somewhat less about the spatial outcomes of these decisions apart from the well-established distance minimization of most moves. Recent research has begun to fill that gap and in this paper I unpack an earlier study of mobility across communities clustered by measures of disadvantage and extend that study to a comparable analysis of mobility in Australia. Specifically, I use the New Zealand Deprivation Index and the SEIFA index in the Household Income and Labour Dynamics Survey in Australia (HILDA) to construct matrices of socio-spatial movement and consider the relationship between in-flows and out-flows, the interaction of moves with age and education and the relationship of initial location with mobility outcomes.
The Introduction of Compulsory Income Management into New Zealand's Social Security System: The Case of the Youth Service Package
Authors: Fletcher Michael , Hanna Kirsten , Anderson Danae
Published: April 2018

As part of its 2012 Youth Service package, the Government has introduced compulsory income management for recipients of the new Youth Payment and Young Parent Payment benefits. The scheme involves dividing beneficiaries’ payments between automatic redirections for rent and other bills, an electronic payment card that can only be used for food and groceries and a cash payment of no more than $50 per week The only other country to operate comparable programmes is Australia which introduced income management in 2007 as part of the Northern Territory Emergency Response.

This paper presents a preliminary assessment of the income management scheme introduced in the Youth Service package. We examine the design of, and apparent rationale for, the policy and consider some of its implications. We also compare the New Zealand policy with the way income management operates in Australia.

We conclude that there is no evidence of widespread poor expenditure patterns amongst the two target groups that might justify the blanket application of the policy; that the design of the scheme inhibits people’s ability to budget optimally; and risks a number of negative and perverse outcomes. It appears that the rationale underlying the use of income management is to deter benefit receipt rather than to assist with financial management. In our view, this is not an appropriate use of the policy, especially if in doing so the scheme also risks negative outcomes.
The Development of Danish Working Environment Regulation of the Health and Safety Organisation - Organisational Understanding and Programme theory
Authors: Seim Rikke , Mø¸ller Niels , Jensen Per Langaa
Published: April 2018

The Danish law on working environment has been revised in 2010. From mandatory rules on how to organise the activities the new law opens for local decisions on how to organise the activities. As such this law can be seen as a further move towards a reflexive regulation. As part of an evaluation of this new element this paper analyses the program theory being the outcome from the three-partite discussions and negotiations.
Safe at work? Employee experiences of workplace health and safety
Authors: Lynch Carrie-Anne
Published: April 2018

Health and safety is an important issue for New Zealand workers. It is accepted that some types of work have more inherent health and safety risks than others; however it is important that employees experiences of different types of health and safety issues, as well as their perceptions of how well their employers manage risks, are looked at in greater depth.The Survey of Working Life (2012) asked employed people how often, in the previous 12 months, they had experienced:· physical problems or pain because of work· stress from being at work, or the work itself stressful· tiredness from work that affected life outside of work· discrimination, harassment or bullying at work.This paper aims to look what role – if any - age, sex, industry, occupation, and employment relationship played in the results. Using the same breakdowns, employee’s perceptions of health and safety risk management, and whether they felt they had reasonable opportunities to contribute to improving health and safety in their workplace will also be explored in further detail.
Hazy “Career Clarity” Can Career Crafting Bring It into Focus?
Authors: Sukhapure Mohini , Cohen David A.
Published: April 2018

This research proposes a new theory for explaining career progression and guiding individuals to chart their career pathways. It focusses tightly on how one thinks about and manages the range of activities involved in making their career. The study examines the career journeys of accounting professionals in mainstream firms and academia in New Zealand. A qualitative approach was used for collecting data. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 36 participants. Analysis used NVivo software. The exploration revealed a continuum of career clarity with respect to formulation of career goals. Only eight participants seemed to have perfect clarity about their initial goals, whereas twenty-four participants have clarity with regard to current and future career goals. The main influences were the deliberate efforts of career crafting, the role of family and organization. Characteristics of crafters are identified, and scope for future research is discussed.
Drivers of employment outcomes amongst skilled migrants to Australia
Authors: Van de Ven Justin , Voitchovsky Sarah
Published: April 2018

During the last 2 decades Australia has very substantially increased its skilled migration intake to off-set the effects of declining fertility and increased longevity. Between 1996 and 2011, permanent arrivals in Australia rose from 85000 to 195000 per year, with 83 per cent of the increase accounted for by migration through the Skill Stream. Furthermore, since the mid-2000s Australian skilled migration policy has shifted from a “supply driven” model that favoured independent General Skilled Migrants, to a “hybrid model” that balances supply driven migration against Employer Sponsored “demand driven” migration. van de Ven and Voitchovsky (2014) report estimates for the period between 2005 and 2009, which indicate that this shift to a hybrid model for selection substantively improved labour market outcomes amongst skilled migrants. Here we explore the channels through which improved labour market outcomes were achieved. Our investigation emphasises the likely importance of English language and experience in delivering improved employment outcomes, aspects that are imperfectly controlled for in our first empirical study.
Should Paid Workforce Participation By Older People Be Encouraged? Evaluating The Pros And Cons
Authors: Davey Judith A.
Published: April 2018

The policies of many developed countries now aim to encourage older people to remain longer in the paid workforce. What are the pros and cons of this position? Longer lives and better health in later life provide opportunities for prolonging workforce participation. There is considerable evidence that having meaningful and appropriate work is beneficial to the physical, psychological and financial wellbeing of older people. Demographic trends suggest that labour and skills shortages will become more pressing in the future as younger people entering the workforce do not balance the numbers retiring. Firms which understand the implications of ageing will be better placed to address its challenges. Older workers represent a valuable and often untapped source of increased productivity. But how can we ensure that their working conditions are appropriate rather than precarious? There are social and economic benefits from having an economically active older population. It will contribute to economic growth and the maintenance of living standards and also, through taxation, help to meet the costs of an ageing population. But what about the impact on the employment prospects of young workers and on voluntary work?
Where Have They Gone? Changes In Occupations Using 1991-2013 New Zealand Census Data
Authors: Hancock Andrew
Published: April 2018

Over the period 1991 to 2013 they way in which occupations have been reported and classified in the New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings has changed. To look at the high level trends, an analysis of the top thirty occupations that have the highest counts in census data in that time period based on the New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (NZSCO) has been undertaken. The purpose of this analysis is to have a time-series barometer to see whether respondents change the way in which they respond, and to determine if occupation reporting is reflecting changes in the real world of the New Zealand labour market. A comparison is made using the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) to identify if classification changes have an impact. Have some of the old occupations really disappeared or are they being reported differently? Has the way the occupations are classified, and the changes in the classifications caused some interesting trends. What impact has been experienced with the introduction of a trans-Tasman classification? Are there new and emerging occupations in this top group and are there any labour market sectors that are not appropriately represented? The paper discusses the role of an occupational classification in relation to the processing of the responses given to the five yearly population census question on occupation, and questions whether the statistical need for processing survey responses has affected the viability of the classification for labour market analysis.
Measuring Unemployment: A Composition Model
Authors: Jackson Fraser
Published: April 2018

In looking at statistics of the labour market, the labour force status categories are often considered as independent, but when expressed as proportions they are observations over a simplex of non-negative components summing to 1. This leads to serious deficiencies in the conventional tools of analysis, and a framework commonly referred to as compositional modelling has been developed to address them. This paper explores the application of these tools to labour force data and demonstrates simple consistent patterns between job search (unemployment) and current participation levels across both aggregate and age and gender sub populations. Unlike previous uses of composition models in labour market studies we use a simple transform with a direct interpretation for our analysis.
Analysis Of The Proposed $18.40 Living Wage
Authors: King Anita
Published: April 2018

Over the last two years, a campaign has been running to pay employees a “living wage” of $18.40/hr (recently increased to $18.80/hr). Using cross-tabulations of data from the Household Economic Survey 2010/11, this work looks at who in New Zealand is currently receiving wages below this level, by age, family type, education level, industry, gender, and ethnicity. This group has proportionately higher numbers of people who are under 30, or who are single adults without dependents. It does not take into account labour supply and demand effects, nor does it consider wage relativity effects on those currently earning above the living wage. We also calculate the increase in disposable income for a variety of different family types if they were to increase their wages from the minimum wage to the living wage, and find that those that are currently receiving the most government assistance (usually families with dependent children) benefit the least from this increase due to the abatement of that assistance.
Beyond Mainstream Labour Market Theory And Precarity: Towards An Alternative To The Neoliberal Model Of Development
Authors: Neilson David
Published: April 2018

This paper contextualises contemporary precarity within a mid-range focus on labour market segmentation that takes Marx’s long-range theory of the ‘relative surplus population’ as its point of departure. It also briefly outlines an alternative ‘model of development’ which could address the increasing precarity of a growing proportion of the world’s population. It first sets out a critical analysis of core elements of mainstream accounts of the labour market, which is a point of comparison in the later sections. The paper ends with an exploratory discussion about how neo-Marxist analysis can supplement Keynesianism, and how both need to be re-focused more clearly on the need to design a post-neoliberal model of development.
Renewing New Zealand Unions: The Service And Food Workers’ Union & Living Wage Aotearoa
Authors: Newman Annabel , Jess Carol
Published: April 2018

Trade unions and trade unionism are under serious threat in most industrialised countries, in what has been referred to as the ‘crisis in trade unionism’. The crisis is common to trade unions across the globe, consisting of a decline in membership and density, coupled with a loss of political influence and social standing. The crisis has been caused by changes in the political economies of the industrially developed nations. Social Movement Unionism (SMU) is one of the strategies to combat this crisis which has been embraced by unions and union movements in many of the Liberal Market Economies (LME). In the context of New Zealand, Jane Parker has looked at the possibility of SMU at a union movement level. However, at a single union level, the Service and Food Workers’ Union (SFWU) has engaged with this vision of renewal through participation in the Living Wage Movement Aotearoa New Zealand (LWANZ).This paper will seek to place the SFWU’s engagement with this campaign within a theoretical framework of union renewal; that is, a re-imagining of trade union relationships in order to (re-)gain power along various dimensions. We will further consider the SMU literature and will draw on three concepts identified by Ross in her analysis of social unionism: the ethos, or “collective action frame”; the strategies or “repertoire”; and, the “internal organisational practices”, and how these interlink with the literature on union renewal. Of particular note will be the response of both the union and non-union participants in the LWANZ to the development of their relationships, and whether and how this is contributing to the successes of LWANZ and of union renewal.
Research into Labour, Employment and Work in New Zealand: An Overview
Authors: Morrison Philip
Published: April 2018

The following overview is a personal but sympathetic summary of key ideas presented in November 1994.
Unemployment Dynamics in New Zealand 1985-1994
Authors: Silverstone Brian , Gorbey Susi
Published: April 2018

The quarterly change in the number of unemployed New Zealanders is usually quite small relative to the total number of people unemployed. For the year ended September 1994, for example, the absolute average quarterly change in Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS) unemployment was 10,500 people against a quarterly average unemployment pool of 145,000 people. These relatively small stock changes, however, conceal the much larger flows into and out of unemployment of possibly 70,000 people during each quarter of 1993194. The scale of these flows, and the associated probabilities of entering and leaving unemployment, are not widely known. Using data from the HLFS, this paper updates and extends the relatively small amount of New Zealand research on labour market dynamics. It begins with a definition and data on the unemployment stock-flow relationship in New Zealand. This is followed by a brief analysis of the flows between the major labour market states and the associated flow rates and cycles. The paper will indicate how gross flows data can be used to give insights into gender and age differences in unemployment and 'steady-state' outcomes. The accuracy of gross flows data and the formal modelling of unemployment inflows and outflows are on-going projects.
Expectations and Employment Dynamics in New Zealand Manufacturing
Authors: Buckle Robert , Peters Julian
Published: April 2018

The characteristics of short-run employment dynamics in New Zealand manufacturing and the role of business expectations are examined for the period since the 1970s, including the post-1985 employment slump. Based on econometric estimation, using both business survey based estimates of expectations and cointegration methods applied to conventional manufacturing data, we conclude that labour hoarding is present in manufacturing firms, that the short-run dynamics can be modelled as an error-correction process, that manufacturers' output expectations have a crucial influence on these dynamics and appear more important than relative price expectations, and that understanding how manufacturers' output expectations evolve is crucial to understanding New Zealand's recent manufacturing employment history. These conclusions appear robust for measuring employment dynamics by total hours worked while for numbers employed there was evidence of structural change during the post-1985 period for reasons that warrant fun her investigation.
New Zealand Research on Skills Formation and the 'Learning Organisation': Critical Analysis of the Case Study Methodology
Authors: Bullard Tony , Capper Phillip , Hawes Kathryn , Hill Roberta , Richardson Evelyn , Weldon Ward
Published: April 2018

In recent years there has been continuing debate about what skills are needed for New Zealand's competitive business environment. Many commentators talk of a skills crisis, while some academics argue that the skills crisis is a myth. Recent research on workplace reform in seven 'leading edge' New Zealand companies highlights six crucial limitations of the debate. These are a focus on: i) individual skills rather than organisational culture, work design and employment relationships; ii) formal training rather than work-based learning; iii) the skills of school leavers rather than those of managers, supervisors and workers; and iv) technical, rather than organisational and team, skills. The debate also pays inadequate attention to v) how people learn in teams; and vi) the complexity of the current business and policy environment. In November 1993, N7JSR &D commenced a FRST -funded, three-year project on 'Economic Restructuring and Skills Formation' to address these limitations. Based on jive case studies in a range of sectors, the project examines characteristics of enterprises seeking sustainable competitive advantage by operating as a 'learning organisation'; one where the organisational structure itself is an environment for continuing education. Case study analysis is also used to understand the relationship between the company's corporate strategy and skilling process; the core skills required by managers, supervisors and workers, and how these are formed. The purpose of this paper is to outline the project's case study design, explain why this methodology has been selected and examine debates about its validity and utility.
Families and Patterns of Work: Paid and Unpaid Parental Leave in Two Parent Families
Authors: Callister Paul
Published: April 2018

In a two parent family the birth of a child often results in one parent moving out of paid work for some period of time. This absence from paid work can come about through the use of formal parental leave, resignation from a job, or because the parent already may not be in paid work through unemployment or alternatively because they are already at home looking after older children. Using 1991 census data this paper examines the paid work patterns of parents in the first five years of a child's life with a particular emphasis on the first 24 months. The paper analyses these patterns using a range of parental characteristics including gender, education, occupation and ethnicity. The paper then examines the effect the introduction of paid parental leave may have on some of these patterns using the experience of Sweden. In particular, there is a focus on whether paid leave increases the number of men in the role of primary caregiver in the early years of a child's life.
Theories of Corporatism: A Feminist Critique
Authors: Hill Linda
Published: April 2018

Political theories of corporatism from the late 1970s make turgid reading and rather deservedly disappeared down a theoretical rabbit hole. However, my doctoral thesis on Feminism and Unionism draws on that theoretical framework as well as socialist feminist theories to think about recent radical change in New Zealand labour relations. This paper outlines corporatist theories, looks at how these featured in some union/political thinking in New Zealand in the late 1980s, and why, even though they are useful, they are inadequate to explain the labour market situation of New Zealand women and their unions.
Youth Unemployment and the 'Invisible Hand' - A Case for a Social Measure of Unemployment
Authors: Jackson Natalie
Published: April 2018

This paper considers the relationship between youth unemployment, the 'invisible hand', and increasing youth dependency. Empirically, it shows that conventional measures of unemployment often conceal more than they reveal. This is because they are based on labour force participation rates which differ both between different age, sex, and ethnic groups, and across time; and because the analyses are usually cross-sectional. The paper argues that such measures contribute to (i) superficial interpretations of the causes of youth unemployment (and unemployment in general); (ii) misleading impressions of the degree to which each group is exposed to (that is, 'carrying' the consequences of) unemployment; and therefore can lead to (iii) inappropriate policy responses. An alternative population-based index is proposed, and a more illustrative cohort perspective of unemployment is given. In combination with a brief review of associated demographic factors, the results place in doubt the current wisdom of permitting the 'invisible hand' to manage contemporary unemployment.
Skills and Schemes: The Training Response to Youth Unemployment
Authors: Higgins Jane
Published: April 2018

The introduction of the Access training scheme in 1987 was a significant point in the history of active labour market policy in New Zealand and represented a shift away from work schemes to an almost exclusive focus on the provision of training. This shift suggests a changed interpretation of the causes of unemployment and the accompanying official discourse reflects this, referring to skill deficits and mismatches forming rigidities in the labour market and leading to unemployment. This paper investigates the adequacy of this skill discourse (which remains current) and asks whether the provision of schemes such as Access is consistent with the discourse, and is an appropriate policy response to the problem of youth unemployment. The paper adopts a case study approach, analysing the changing structure of employment in the Christchurch youth labour market over the period 1976-1991.
Human Labour as a Commodity - A Maori Ethical Response
Authors: Manuka Henare
Published: April 2018

The marketplace economics of the 1980s and1990s asks that Maori be more competitive and focused. This is ironic when it is considered that most of the Maori means of production –land, capital and the possession of know how-were stripped from or withheld from Maori. Maori labour, however, remains a significant potential component in economic activity but it is not in Maori control. It has become enslaved in economic structures and production that enhances the value of capital and land gained by the Crown and distributed to Pakeha. Maori are the labourers and servants of a dominant settler culture who control economic activity in Aotearoa. The education and skills training systems have not prepared Maori for ownership or for management of resources. Rather Maori were educated and trained to serve interests other than a Maori socio-economic agenda. Finally, recent studies point to Maori commercial organisations being passive suppliers of products. This context and the fact of the Employment Contracts Act 1991, is the basis for a discussion on Maori understanding of work and labour, and their purpose. Maori philosophy and ethics reject the mechanistic notion that human labour is a commodity valued solely for its economic purpose. Further the economistic approach that puts capital and resources at the centre of economic activity fails to meet Maori criteria for economic and social advancement. Maori philosophy and ethics, and its ideas of tapu, mana, mauri, hau and kotahitanga, are the basis for this critique of today's economics, science and technology.
Occupational and Industry Forecasts of Employment: Implications for Maori
Authors: Andrews Grant , Rose Dennis
Published: April 2018

The period of low economic growth from the mid 1980s to early 1990s has impacted particularly severely on Maori. In June 1994 the unemployment rate for Maori was 19.8 per cent as opposed to 7.1 per cent for non-Maori. Maori tend to be over-represented in manual occupations and in a number of industries particularly affected by economic restructuring. As part of a wider programme assessing Maori development, educational and training options Te Puni Kokiri commissioned Business and Economic Research Ltd (BERL) to produce a set of occupational and industry forecasts of employment in New Zealand for the year 2000. 1991 Census material was used to provide a detailed 25 occupation by 21 industry analysis of employment differentiated by sex and ethnicity, which was used as a base for projections. The forecasts to the year 2000 have been generated through the linked usage of a medium term three sector model of the economy, which produces macro-economic trend forecasts, and a 21 sector version of the BERL general equilibrium model. The general equilibrium model has been extended to include 25 occupational categories and a vector of occupational substitution elasticities. The forecasts suggest that the predominant areas of employment growth will be in non-manual activities and in distribution and service industries.
Industrial Relations in Sweden and New Zealand: A Comparison
Authors: Turner Christopher
Published: April 2018

This paper provides a brief comparison between the Employment Contracts Act 1991 (ECA) and the Swedish equivalent, the Co-Determination Act. The Co-Determination Act is then used to provide a framework against which an alternative to the ECA is discussed. The paper concludes by arguing for a system of contracting which emphasises collective bargaining, noting a number of impediments to its effective operation in New Zealand- at least in the short-term. Two such impediments which are discussed are the current low level of union density and voluntary unionism. Additionally, if New Zealand is to ratify ILO conventions 87 and 98, collective good faith bargaining will have to be embodied in any new legislative framework. Recommendations for such a framework are made herein.
Labour Flexibility and the Legal Requirements for Redundancy Dismissals
Authors: Anderson Gordon , Davis Cary
Published: April 2018

New-right economists and many employers argue that an efficient labour market requires that an employer should face few constraints on the right to dismiss workers as such constraints limit the employer's flexibility to adapt to changes in the marketplace and may inhibit the employer in hiring new labour. Others argue that an employee is entitled to be treated fairly whenever their security of employment is in jeopardy. The latter perspective is the one that has received legal endorsement by both the Employment Court and the Court of Appeal. This paper will examine the way in which the Courts have applied this principle in situations where a worker has been dismissed because of redundancy. It will discuss legal developments in the area and comment on the extent to which the legal requirements may inhibit an employer's decision making relating to reductions in its labour force.
Social Security and the Law of Dismissal
Authors: Hughes John
Published: April 2018

The sweeping changes made to social security law following the election of the National Government in 1990 have had major repercussions on employment law. This paper examines the developing law on matters such as the 26 week 'stand down' for workers dismissed for misconduct, in the light of decisions of the Social Security Appeal Authority and the Employment Court and policy guidelines formulated by the Department of Social Welfare and the New Zealand Employment Service.
Privacy in the Workplace
Authors: Roth Paul
Published: April 2018

The Privacy Act came into force on 1 July 1993. The first part of this paper surveys areas that raise privacy issues in the workplace. These relate in particular to the collection and use of employee information for selection, evaluation, monitoring, surveillance, and testing purposes. The second part of this paper discusses the nature of the Privacy Act, and its effect on the workplace.
Working Time and the Application of Penal Rates of Pay: A Gender and Industry Analysis in the 1993/94 Year
Authors: Harbridge Raymond , Honeybone Anthony
Published: April 2018

New Zealand employers have followed the international drive for greater internal numerical flexibility and associated changes to working time patterns. In the post Employment Contracts Act era, the thrust of changes for internal numerical flexibility has been directed at the removal of and reduction in penal and overtime rates of pay. At the Fifth Conference on Labour, Employment and Work in 1992 (LEW5) the authors reported on the early developments in collective bargaining arrangements over working time that had been identified from a sample of collective employment contracts. At this 1994 conference (LEW6) the authors will update that data, reporting the latest trends and developments in the working time area. The database from which the paper will be written contains some 2200 'live' collective employment contracts covering some 11,500 employers and 340,000 employees. Changes to working time arrangements are very much industry specific and the data will be reported by industry. A particular focus of the paper will be the effects of changes to working time arrangements on women employees.
Developing Competency and Skills in Te Whanau O Waipareira Trust
Authors: Bullard Tony , Project Team ERSF
Published: April 2018

Te Whanau o Waipareira Trust provides a large range of health, education, social, justice, economic and employment services to its predominantly West Auckland Maori constituency. It operates over a large number of sites and uses a wide range of networks, alliances and joint ventures to deliver its services. Its external environment, like many other New Zealand organisations, is characterised by rapid change and uncertainty. This paper is a preliminary analysis of some of the cultural and structural features of Waipareira and the ski/ling strategies it undertakes to survive in its environment. Te Whanau o Waipareira Trust is the fourth case study of the FRST funded "Economic Restructuring and Skills Formation" project undertaken by WEB Research.
The Impact of the ECA on Labour Relations in Hotels and Restaurants
Authors: Ryan Rose
Published: April 2018

Since the passage of the Employment Contracts Act in 1991, there has been much debate in New Zealand about prevailing patterns of labour relations. It has been suggested that distinctions can be drawn between those workplaces where the Act has been used to exploit workers in a disadvantaged labour market position, those where the Act has been used to develop more positive relationships, and those where little change has been experienced. The service sector in general and the hospitality industry in particular, is often used as an example of the first of these three strategies but usually first on the basis of anecdotal evidence. This paper looks more widely at the question of labour relations practices, reporting survey evidence from 1100 workplaces in the "Accommodation Cafes and Restaurants" industrial sector in New Zealand, followed up by interviews with managers in the industry. It focuses on the nature of employment contracts, wage determination, and representation in the industry. It concludes that the prevailing pattern of labour relations should be characterised not as exploitative, but rather as a form of benevolent paternalism. It also concludes that there is little evidence to support the contention that the ECA has resulted in an increased amount of real negotiation in the industry.