Sepuloni Carmel: Employment Relations (Probationary Period Repeal) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Sepuloni Carmel: Employment Relations (Probationary Period Repeal) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:665;Page:13028] 
CARMEL SEPULONI (Labour) 
: 
 I move  
That the Employment Relations (Probationary Period Repeal) Amendment Bill be now read a first time. 
 I say to my parliamentary colleagues that I seek their support for people who are being exploited in the workplace due to the National Government’s Employment Relations Amendment Act 2008. 
I need to acknowledge many people. Let me start with Charles Chauvel and the important role he has played in drafting this bill. Malo ‘aupito my Tahitian brother Charles Chauvel. Secondly I acknowledge our Labour team who worked tirelessly in fighting for the rights of wage and salary earners. I particularly acknowledge our spokesperson on labour relations the Hon Trevor Mallard and our associate spokespersons on labour relations Darien Fenton and Carol Beaumont. Thirdly I acknowledge the ongoing work undertaken by all union members in their fight to protect the rights of workers and ensure that fairness is achieved and maintained in the workplace. 
My bill seeks to repeal the 90-day trial period that the National Government introduced for new workers and businesses that employ fewer than 20 people. My bill will restore the relevant provisions of the Employment Relations Act to the pre-2008 application. We were vehemently opposed to the 90-day fire-at-will bill because it was an attack on workers’ rights on fairness and on decency and it was an unnecessary move by the National Government. It has hindered rather than helped employment during the recession and we are of the strong belief that it must be repealed as soon as possible before more damage is done. 
With that in mind what has caused outrage from us on this side of the House and from numerous members of the public is the Government’s recent announcements one week after my bill was drawn from the ballot that it would be looking to extend the provisions of its Act to apply to all workplaces of all sizes. This will be negative for all wage and salary earners including those who change jobs. 
Every year 700000 Kiwis start a new job. That will be 700000 workers whose employers can sack them without a reason and without a right of redress. There are no two ways about it. The 90-day trial legislation should not be extended; it should be done away with entirely. The 90-day fire-at-will bill that the National Government introduced in 2008 can only be described in the following four ways: exploitation of marginalised New Zealanders; arrogance towards ordinary working Kiwis; a corporate favour from that Government to its business mates; and disregard for fairness and the fundamental rights of wage and salary earners. 
What needs to be highlighted is that prior to the Government’s 90-day fire-at-will bill trial periods were not unknown in employment contracts. Trial periods were about fair appraisals of a new employee’s capability to do the job. For employers they mitigated some of the risks of employing new people but the key element of those trial periods was fairness. Employees had a right to a fair appraisal. If they were dismissed they had a right to know why. They also had the right to appeal the decision if they felt they were being unfairly dismissed. That was the situation before the National Government’s changes. 
What happened next is that the Government decided that legislation for fair dismissal was not enough. It decided to legislate for unfair dismissal. This move was seen as so important to the National Government that it included it in its first 100 days of action programme. In hindsight the National Government had no qualms about demonstrating its right-wing agenda from the get-go. By introducing the 90-day trial period it put all the power in the hands of the employers and took away employees’ rights to appeal. It was nothing short of an attack on fairness decency and workers’ rights. 
The National Government has taken the position that the 90-day legislation has been a boost for people on the margins of the workforce who need an employer to give them a chance in a new job. The National Government has tried to tell New Zealanders that the 90-day legislation encourages small businesses to give a prospective employee a go without fear of costly or protracted legal proceedings if the relationship does not work out. The National Government has touted this legislation as being a success but let us look at the unemployment rates and gauge for ourselves how much of a success this legislation has been. 
When the National Government took office in 2008 the unemployment rate for Maori was 8.3 percent. It is now 13.6 percent. When the National Government took office in 2008 the unemployment rate for Pasifika was 7.4 percent. It is now 13.3 percent. When the National Government took office in 2008 the unemployment rate for young people aged 15 to 19 was 17.9 percent. It is now 25.2 percent. The unemployment rate for 20 to 24-year-olds was 7.3 percent and it is now 11.4 percent. The overall unemployment rate when National took office was 4.4 percent and it is now 6.6 percent. 
How can members of the National Government stand up in this Parliament and tell us and the rest of New Zealand that the 90-day bill has been a success? How can members of the National Government stand up in this Parliament and suggest that the provisions of its Act be extended even further? It has done nothing to alleviate the poverty imposed on an increasing number of New Zealand families. The provisions of the 90-day bill serve only to deny New Zealanders starting out in new jobs the dignity they deserve and the employment rights they should be automatically entitled to in this country. 
Last month the Minister for Social Development and Employment cited a Department of Labour report on the 90-day trial period scheme as apparent proof that the original legislation was working as intended but it noted that many employees hired under the scheme felt vulnerable to unfair treatment and job loss. Nearly a quarter of the workers employed under the scheme were sacked. Is this what the Government intended when it implemented the scheme? The report found some instances where trial periods appeared to have been misused by employers. Is this what the Government intended when it implemented the scheme? The report notes that it cannot be stated categorically that the scheme has created any extra job opportunities. So what does the Government do? It pushes on with the expansion of the scheme despite the lack of any clear evidence that it is creating new jobs. 
We know that the trial period scheme has been abused by some employers. There are many examples of that including one recently in the  
Dominion Post 
 about a woman named Alison Murray. We have been told time and time again by this Government that the 90-day trial is about giving people a chance particularly those who are disadvantaged in the labour market. This includes young people Maori and Pasifika migrants and people with disabilities or mental illness. This Government gives them chances by taking away their right to a fair go. The Government told us it would increase job opportunities for the most marginalised working-age New Zealanders. I ask this Government today where those job opportunities are. I cannot find them the Department of Labour cannot find them and the young Maori Pasifika migrant and disabled job seekers cannot find them either. 
It is insulting that the National Government would patronise New Zealanders in search of employment by stating over and over again that the legislation is there to help them. The only people who are benefiting from the 90-day fire-at-will legislation are the National Party’s mates who own businesses and want to employ workers but do not want to have to adhere to the legislation. 
Our workers are our greatest asset as a country. They deserve respect and job security. They do not deserve this prolonged attack on workers’ rights by the National Government. I ask all my parliamentary colleagues tonight to support my bill which will see the National Government’s 90-day fire-at-will legislation repealed. Thank you.