English Bill: Employment Relations Law Reform Bill — In Committee 
English Bill: Employment Relations Law Reform Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:620;Page:16076] 
Hon BILL ENGLISH (National—Clutha-Southland) 
: 
 In some ways this legislation shows the weakness of the union movement rather than its strength. If there was one thing that I and other MPs underestimated after the last changes to employment relations law it was the number of New Zealand workers in the private sector who would simply refuse to take part in collective bargaining. That has been the huge disappointment to the Council of Trade Unions and to this Government. When the Government passed the Employment Relations Act the idea was that the workers down in Winton would line up to have the delegate from Dunedin come and negotiate their agreement but they did not; they told him to get stuffed and get lost so that they could get on with the job. That is why that legislation did not do all the economic damage that it could have done. It was welcomed in the public sector but not in the private sector. 
There was a day when the union movement in New Zealand could organise and when it could induce faith among working people that their union would do something in their interests. But those days are gone. That is why we have this squirrelly pathetic warmed-up pink-tie unionism legislation. We have debated this stuff for a number of years under Labour. It used to be the diesel-stained hands. It used to be the dirty overalls. Now it is the pink tie. That is why it is not working. 
We have lost perspective. Listen to this provision: “even though the union and employer have come to a standstill or reached a deadlock about a matter they must continue to bargain (including doing the thing specified in paragraphs (b) and (c)) about any other matters on which they have not reached agreement;” We are passing a law—this will be the legislation of the country—that says to people that if they disagree about one matter they have to negotiate and keep talking about the other one. How pathetic is that! If that is what the Council of Trade Unions says it needs this Parliament to do so that it can get some members it has had it—it has absolutely had it. 
The legislation says that “The duty of good faith” requires parties “to conclude a collective agreement unless there is a genuine reason … not to.” and that the genuine reason cannot include the fact that one is opposed to a collective agreement. How pathetic is that! How persuasive is the concept of union power and solidarity and enhanced productivity in the workplace if one has to say to the bargainers: “You must agree to a collective agreement and if you are against one that is not a good enough reason not to agree.”! The union movement under the sponsorship of the Minister of Labour is on its knees. It has increased its membership in the public sector only and it has been able to do that only because it has had a compliant employer. Who is that compliant employer? That Minister. 
I will make this claim tonight: there is no economic case for this measure. What is in this for the workers? Nothing! Economic restructuring has delivered skill shortages which is the best news for working people in New Zealand for 30 years. They are now in a sellers’ market and their wages are going up. Businesses need workers and have to improve pay and conditions to get them. There is no economic case for this bill. The Government has never made a case for this bill. It is simply the Council of Trade Unions worming its way back into office trying to increase its revenue-gathering capacity with ridiculous ideas like the bargaining fee. 
I think the Minister even in his less lucid moments would know that freeloading has been legislated for in New Zealand. If he does not understand that I will explain it to him slowly. In New Zealand one cannot be in a collective agreement unless one is a member of a union. Only a union can negotiate a collective agreement. Then in typical left-wing fashion the Government having legislated one piece of nonsense has to legislate another to fix it.