Todd McClay - Workplace Relations and Safety

9 December 2019

Emboldened unions and increased strike action is disrupting the daily lives of New Zealanders as a result of this Government’s reforms to employment law, National’s Workplace Relations spokesperson Todd McClay says.

“Today, tens of thousands of Mums and Dads across Auckland are being held up in traffic trying to drop their kids off at school and get to work because negotiations with the Union representing bus drivers in Auckland have failed.

“Aucklanders are already facing high fuel taxes, no new roads, delayed promises for new public transport, and now their buses are off the roads as well.

“This is not the first time Aucklanders have been frustrated by strike action.

“Over the last two years there have been more strikes in the transport sector alone than there was under nine years of a National Government. This is down to Labour’s Union friendly employment law reforms emboldening strike action across the country.

“The number of strikes we are seeing also shows why the plan for Union-led sector agreements would fail to deliver better outcomes. These pay agreements harm the economy by imposing new and high costs on businesses.

“Evidence also points to the fact that these agreements are likely to damage opportunities for workers in New Zealand.

“We already have a slowing economy with increasing costs on Kiwi households as a result of this Government’s policy, pushing ahead with fair pay agreements will only make matters worse.

“Aucklanders today will certainly be wondering exactly what these plans mean for them.”

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