The Right of Association New Zealand workers have unrestricted rights to establish and join organizations of their own choosing and to affiliate those organizations with other unions and international organizations. There are also a number of labor unions independent of both groups. Industrial relations in the Cook Islands are governed by a simplified version of older New Zealand legislation. Unions in New Zealand are protected by law from governmental interference, suspension, and dissolution, and, in fact, they influence legislation and government policy. Unions operate independently of political parties but can and do support parties whose policies they favor.
Unions have and freely exercise the right to strike.
Public sector unions, however, may not strike if work stoppages would threaten public safety. Legislation enacted in 1991 prohibits strikes designed to force an employer to become party to a multicompany contract. Workers are also barred from using secondary boycotts and striking to force up the minimum wage. The right of workers to organize and bargain collectively is provided by law and observed in practice in New Zealand and its dependencies. Unions actively recruit members and engage in collective bargaining.