4. Question No. 4—Workplace Relations and SafetyJAN LOGIE (Green) to the Minister for Workplace Relations and SafetyQuestion No. 4—Workplace Relations and Safety4. JAN LOGIE (Green) to the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety: Is he confident that Government policies are ensuring working people are safe and supported during the current COVID-19 outbreak?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): on behalf of the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety: Mr Speaker mālō 'aupito. Yes. The Government has put in place extensive financial support including the wage subsidy scheme the leave support scheme and the short-term absence payment. Around 350000 wage subsidy payments have been made since 18 August and around 2500 leave support and short-term absence payments. We continue to ensure that people receive the support they need around their employment rights making additional COVID-19 employment guidance available on the Employment New Zealand website providing additional resources to our service centre to answer employment queries and providing an additional early resolution service as part of the mediation service to help resolve employment disputes. At all times normal employment law and health and safety requirements also continue to apply.Jan Logie: Will the Minister ensure that essential workers who have to stay home because they're unable to access appropriate childcare continue to be paid while they put the health and safety of their tamariki first?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: On behalf of the Minister I am advised that obviously the Government has contracted Out of School Care and Recreation childcare providers and licensed home-based education and care providers to provide that childcare to workers in alert level 4 and businesses and services it's free of charge it's offered for those aged 0-13. There is also the possibility for those at alert level 4 to expand their bubble in order to bring somebody in to provide that support for them as well. So I believe that the Government is taking the steps it needs to to provide that support.Jan Logie: Does the Minister believe the wage subsidy scheme is working for all working people in Aotearoa including those in unstable work casual contractors migrant workers not able to access support and early childhood education relief teachers?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I do believe that the wage subsidy scheme is working well. It is true to say that there is a wide variety of employment arrangements in New Zealand. One point I would like to make is that employers can apply on behalf of casual staff who work for them and I would encourage them to do that. For those who fall outside of the criteria that the wage subsidy scheme has there are supports in place through the Ministry of Social Development and I encourage them to contact the Ministry about those.Jan Logie: How has the Government been evaluating the coverage of the wage subsidy scheme and making any subsequent improvements for workers as we've moved between different alert levels over the last year?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: There've been a couple of reviews of the wage subsidy scheme one was undertaken by the Auditor-General actually. There's also been one that I believe it may have been Deloitte did on behalf of the Ministry of Social Development and there is ongoing work as we sit within each incarnation of the scheme to make sure we get it into the right shape. Jan Logie: What new support has the Minister put in place or advocated for to ensure all workers have access to financial support during this lockdown even when their employer is not eligible has not applied or is not passing on their COVID-19 wage subsidy or leave support scheme?SPEAKER: Any one of the eight or nine questions!Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Yeah I was about to say! I'll pick up some of those points. The first one I would make is the one that I made in my primary answer: employment law stands. If there are examples of people who are not being paid in the way that they should be because of a decision of an employer then there are rights and as I have said publicly before people should join a union be part of a union and make sure that those people are there to help them in situations like this. In terms of issues around migrant workers there have been schemes in place to support migrant workers throughout this period of time and there is a very small number of people still involved in some of those schemes. Beyond that I go back to the Ministry of Social Development. They are there for situations where people fall outside of the working environment.Jan Logie: Did the Minister consider or provide for any agencies to proactively contact employers who had COVID-related health and safety or employment relations complaints after the last two lockdowns to ensure that they would follow the law this time round?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): On behalf of the Minister within the Minister's portfolio I'm unable to provide that information today. I'm sure we can get back to the member on that. More generally yes there have been follow-ups particularly through the wage subsidy scheme we've seen around $700 million returned from employers from the wage subsidy scheme that they've taken. And I do know that the employment parts of the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment are constantly following up complaints about things not just related to COVID I might add but where people believe there have been breaches of laws.Jan Logie: When the Minister mentioned adaptations for additional resources for the centre and Early Resolution Service is he confident that the system is responding to the COVID environment and for example is their online dispute resolution capacity adequate—is the system coping with delays in bargaining?SPEAKER: Order! Order! I did warn the member earlier.Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: On behalf of the Minister I don't have advice that the system isn't working. Clearly under a COVID environment there will be an increase in inquiries and that's why I mentioned before that additional resourcing has been provided and we continue to direct people to that resourcing. If the Government were presented with concerns that there was inadequate resourcing I'm very confident the Minister would approach the Minister of Finance with that matter.