6. Employment Relations—90-day Trial Period and Law ChangesHon AMY ADAMS (National—Selwyn) to the Minister for Workplace Relations and SafetyEmployment Relations—90-day Trial Period and Law Changes6. Hon AMY ADAMS (National—Selwyn) to the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety: Why has the Government decided to retain 90-day trials for businesses with fewer than 20 employees?Hon IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY (Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety): Thank you Mr Speaker. The Government has decided to retain 90-day trial periods for small businesses because in the context of a bill that restores a range of workers' rights that were stripped away by the previous Government we believe this policy strikes the right balance between the rights of working New Zealanders and the needs of small business.Hon Amy Adams: Does he agree with the chief executive of Business New Zealand which the finance Minister just quoted when he said that The reality was [that 90-day trial periods were] enabling employers to take chances on in particular younger and less experienced workers and [give] them a shot?Hon IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY: Well I certainly respect the views of Mr Hope but in this case the evidence that was commissioned by the previous Government doesn't really back that statement up.Hon Amy Adams: Well has he read then the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment research report into 90-day trials which found that a third of employers surveyed said that the 90-day provision has led them to hire people that they otherwise would not have?Hon IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY: I certainly have read that report and I would note that a lot of the research commissioned by the previous Government surveyed the views of employers but never once asked the views of workers.Marja Lubeck: What have been the reactions of employers and workers to the announcement of the employment law changes?Hon IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY: Both businesses and unions have welcomed the collaborative and constructive approach that this Government is taking to industrial relations. The Minister of Finance has already quoted Kirk Hope so I will quote Chris Lewis from Federated Farmers who said that "This bill will give farmers renewed confidence. The decision is especially good for small businesses."Hon Amy Adams: In light of the information in my previous supplementaries why does the Minister want younger inexperienced and vulnerable workers to miss out on opportunities to prove themselves amongst the 70 percent of New Zealand jobs that will now be excluded from 90-day trials?Hon IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY: That is simply not the case. There is one robust piece of research into 90-day trials that was commissioned by Treasury and it found that there was absolutely no impact on hiring intentions or on job opportunities for young vulnerable workers.Hon Amy Adams: So under the Government's proposed employment law changes is the Minister confident that New Zealand will continue to create new jobs at the rate of at least 10000 new jobs a month as it has for the past two years?Hon IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY: I am confident that New Zealand will continue to create new jobs at a pace that is reflective of the global economic conditions.Hon Amy Adams: So in the employment law bill that the member has now tabled in the House can he confirm whether the 20 employee threshold applies to 20 full-time equivalents or does it penalise those using job share and part-time arrangements by taking them over the cap?Hon IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY: It will apply exactly as it was introduced by the National Government back in 2010."