The Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi has today filed a formal complaint with the Chief Ombudsman over Workplace Relations Minister Brooke van Velden's political interference in the Employment Relations Authority.

PSA National Secretary Fleur Fitzsimons says the complaint centres on Van Velden's public statements suggesting her new ERA appointees should deliver outcomes favourable to employers.

"The Minister stated that she hoped new Employment Relations Authority appointees with private sector backgrounds would lead to smaller awards against businesses, adding that current members ‘believe that money grows on trees.’

"The Minister’s statement also included a reminder about her powers to re-appoint existing ERA members, and that her decisions in this regard will be based on the current members making ‘the right decisions’ and doing so quickly.

"This amounts to a blatant political direction to ERA members to act in a way that is not independent and breaches the law," Fitzsimons said. "It undermines the impartiality of incoming members and has a chilling effect on the current members she has criticised."

The PSA's Ombudsman complaint notes that Van Velden's statements breach Cabinet Manual requirements for political neutrality and merit-based appointments in the public service.

"When a Minister starts telling judicial officers what kinds of decisions to make, faith in the system breaks down. Workers facing employment issues deserve to know they'll get a fair hearing based on facts, not the political preferences of the Government of the day.

"This interference is corrosive to the rule of law and has no place in our democracy," Fitzsimons said.

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