Return to less holidays on the cards?
Annette King
Acting Deputy Labour Leader
31 October 2014
Return to less holidays on the cards?
John Key needs to lay his cards on the table regarding the Government’s intentions around holiday pay and annual leave entitlements, Labour’s Acting Deputy Leader Annette King says.
“A day after National pushed through laws that take away the legal right to a tea break - that an overwhelming majority of Kiwis opposed - it is hinting at making changes to the Holidays Act, which ensures all New Zealanders get a certain amount of annual leave.
“Calculating annual leave differently is likely to see workers losing even more of their holiday entitlements.
“This comes after a previous undermining of the Act that allows workers to cash up their fourth week of annual leave, putting pressure on them not to take it as time off.
“Labour has always been a party that has understood the value of annual leave. It is why, when we were last in Government, we increased the minimum entitlement to four weeks.
“And it’s why last year, against Government opposition, we put through a member’s bill to mondayise Anzac and Waitangi days - giving Kiwis an extra two extra days off a year when those days fall on a weekend.
“The Prime Minister needs to reassure the country his Government is not going to remove any more hard-earned entitlements that every worker is due,” Annette King says.
ENDS