Hon Trevor Mallard - Minister of Labour

02 November 2007

Released under the Official Information Act

Department of Labour strategic context

1. The Department of Labour aims to ensure that New Zealand workplaces are productive and that New Zealanders have high quality working lives. We do this by seeking to expand the workforce, increase skill levels, ensure better work and encourage working better. Through this work we make a significant contribution to the government’s economic transformation agenda.
2. Labour market outcomes are critical for New Zealand, socially and economically. New Zealand’s labour market is tighter than ever before – we have record numbers of people employed, unemployment is lower than most of our trading partners (at 3.6%), and participation is at almost 69%. Work stoppages are down to 42 per annum, with work related injuries falling to 242,600 in 2006. The Department expects these trends to continue in the short term, although we are forecasting a slight easing in employment growth in the medium term.
3. New Zealand needs to shift to a high wage, high skill, high value economy. The Department, with social partners and other key government agencies, aims to leverage the diversity of our labour market and immigration functions across the portfolios of labour, employment, ACC and immigration to improve labour market outcomes.

 We have the following four long-term goals:

• Our place in the world – New Zealand will prosper through its connections with the rest of the world
• Our workplaces – New Zealand workplaces will lead the world in maximising that value of work while providing a high quality working life
• Our workforce – the skills of our workers will ensure New Zealand enterprises are leaders internationally
• Our people – all New Zealanders will be able to grow and develop through access to well-paid and meaningful employment.

4. These goals and their underpinning medium-term priorities shape our work programmes, and enable us to align the work of the various groups in the Department.
5. An example of our approach is our work in the Horticulture and Viticulture Sector. With acute labour and skill constraints, the industry needed to adapt. The Department’s response has been to work collaboratively with industry representatives, the CTU and with other Departments to improve workplace practices, enhance employment relations, and where appropriate, facilitate Pacific people’s contribution to this significant industry.
6. Such service delivery adaptation relies on core, fit for purpose, enabling organisational infrastructure. Building this is a critical priority for the Department as we seek to implement our strategic direction. Most of our core foundation systems are legacy ones, and do not fully support organisational integration and responsiveness. This is a key focus for the Department in Budget 2008, and we consider completion of the Foundation Capabilities Programme is essential for supporting an integrated and successful Department of Labour.
7. Demand for our services continues to increase year on year. In order to meet such pressures, we are continuing to adapt and innovate as an organisation. Increasingly we are providing proactive information via contact centres and our web presence, targeting our resources to where they will have maximum impact.
8. With the legislative and policy changes currently occurring in the immigration portfolio, the Department is now focussing on future proofing immigration risk management and service delivery. Focusing on skills, security and settlement, the Department is working to redesign our service delivery to better meet the future needs of New Zealand.

 Organisational form

9. The Department’s delivery and support groups are headed by Deputy Secretaries. Together with the Secretary of Labour, this group of six comprise our Strategic Leadership Team. The work groups are:

• Work Directions – focusing on achieving the best labour market outcomes at the national, regional and sectoral level, through strategic analysis, engagement and comprehensive labour market information and insights
• Workplace – delivers services relating to employment relationships, workplace practices, workplace health and safety and safe management of hazardous substances to build healthy, productive workplaces
• Workforce – delivers immigration, employment and skills policy to build New Zealand workforce, while managing immigration in New Zealand’s best interests
• Legal and International – provide internal legal advice and support, including Ministerial support for legislative change, and manages our labour-related international engagements. The Group also provides an internally independent home for support staff for immigration appeal bodies and the newly created Immigration Advisers Authority, and houses our Government Executive and Ministerial Services team that provides the practical interface with Ministers’ offices.
• Corporate – provides a range of central shared services, advice and standards across the organisation in relation to human resources, information technology, communications and marketing, financial management, planning and reporting and internal audit.

Ministers

11. The Minister of Labour is the responsible Minister for the Department of Labour. As with the Ministers for Social Development and Employment, ACC and the Ministers of Labour and Immigration there is also a portfolio role.

Labour Portfolio

12. While the Department has been progressing a ‘one organisation’ agenda over the last two years we have not yet fully realised the potential this is intended to bring to improving the contribution of work to New Zealand’s future. Our Operating Model based on knowledge, service, influence reflects the diverse windows into the world of work that the Department touches every day in both its policy and service delivery functions. We will be working actively to demonstrate to stakeholders that we are thinking and operating as one organisation.
13. One of the Department’s key areas of expertise is workplace standards and practices, particularly those relating to employment relations, workplace health and safety, employment equity, and work/life balance. In these areas, the Department provides policy advice and delivers services to make workplaces more attractive, innovative and productive. This, in turn, will improve the working lives of New Zealanders and help the economy grow. The Department works with other organisations (particularly the government’s social partners: Business New Zealand, New Zealand Council of Trade Unions) and other government agencies to develop strategies and implement national plans of action around these issues. The Department also coordinates and manages international, multilateral and bilateral activities relating to labour and employment.
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16. In Budget 2007 the Department secured funding of $34 million over four years for the FCP to upgrade and replace the Information Communications and Technology (ICT) infrastructure. WITHHELD UNDER SECTION 9(2)(f)(iv)

Portfolio responsibilities

17. As the Minister of Labour, you have responsibility for the strategic policy framework in the areas of employment relations, international labour issues, and workplace health and safety. You are also responsible for the effective functioning of the regulatory framework that supports New Zealand’s workplaces. Your specific powers include approving codes, recommending regulations and commissioning inquiries.

In terms of the Employment Relations Act, you:

• May approve codes of good faith (ss.35 and 37 Employment Relations Act)
• May approve codes of employment practice (ss100a to 100C) and may recommend amendments or the replacement of the code of good faith for the public health sector (s100E)
• May appoint a committee to recommend codes of good faith (s.36 Employment Relations Act)
• May approve courses of employment relations education (s.72 Employment Relations Act)
• May recommend to the Governor-General appointment or temporary appointments to the Employment Relations Authority (ss.167 and 17 Employment Relations Act).

In terms of the Health and Safety in Employment Act, you:

• May approve the establishment, amendment or revocation of codes of practice (s.20 Health and Safety in Employment Act)
• May recommend that the Governor-General, by order in Council, make regulations related to achieving the full effect of this Act (s.21 Health and Safety in Employment Act)
• Have the power to direct an inquiry be held by a District Court Judge into the cause of an accident occurring in a workplace that causes any person serious harm. This power would be exercised in consultation with the Minister of Justice, but has not been used in practice
• Have the specific duty to recommend the rate of a funding levy on employers and earners for the purpose of recovering the expected administration cost of the HSE (s.2 Health and Safety in Employment Act 1993).

In terms of other legislation, you:

• In practice, recommend the appointment of Remuneration Authority members and have duties to receive the written notice of resignation from a member (s.7 Remuneration Authority Act 1977)
• Annually review the level of the minimum wage (s.5 Minimum Wage Act 1983)
• Annually adjust the rate of parental leave payment by Order in Council (s.71N Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987).

Tripartism

18. Historically, the tripartite relationship between the Department, the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions and Business New Zealand is a longstanding one, founded on New Zealand’s longstanding membership of the International Labour Organisation and maintained through regular interaction over New Zealand’s international labour obligations. Despite changes in governments and policy frameworks, this relationship has endured, flourished and broadened into a partnership approach across the full spectrum of labour policy issues, including employment, productivity and workplace innovation. Indeed, New Zealand is known internationally for the strength of its tripartite relationships and is often used as a best practice model. Officials meet with representatives of the tripartite partners on a regular basis to maintain relationships as well as engage on specific issues, projects and events.

The International Labour Conference, held in Geneva, is the most significant annual meeting of the International Labour Organisation, which New Zealand has been a member of since 1919. The conference is attended by Labour Ministers from around the world and traditionally the New Zealand Minister of Labour has also attended the event each year, along with a delegation of officials and representatives of New Zealand’s employer and employee groups.

Major links with other portfolios

19. The employment relations area of the labour portfolio interacts with a number of other policy areas and associated agencies including:

• The full range of population based and human rights policies where employment relations policies could have implications for specific social groups such as women, Maori, Pacific people, youth, older workers, and people with disabilities, or where the needs of those groups would shape policy responses.
• The Commerce, Economic Development and Social Development and Employment and Small Business portfolios, given the shared interest in improving the quality of regulation, reducing compliance costs to business and stimulating productivity growth.
• The Ministry of Justice, in relation to judicial appointments to the Employment Court and the role of the Attorney-General
• The Inland Revenue Department, with regard to the administration of paid parental leave.
• The immigration portfolio, with regard to the impact of immigration on business development and compliance with the legal framework governing workplaces
• The employment portfolio in relation to the important link between the quality of workplace conditions and the extent to which people are willing to participate in paid employment generally, and certain industries specifically.

Workplace health and safety issues also intersect with those in many other portfolios, including:

• Health, with regard to occupational health issues, including long-latency occupational diseases
• ACC, in respect to injury prevention strategies and interventions
• Commerce, particularly in relation to gas and electricity safety and compliance costs
• Transport, in relation to regulations, codes and relative responsibilities of agencies (Maritime Safety Authority, Civil Aviation Authority, Land Transport New Zealand, Transport Accident Investigation Commission) as well as broad policy issues
• Environment, in respect of health and safety aspects of the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (HSNO) Act 1996 and the Department of Labour’s responsibilities under that Act.

International Linkages

20. The Department engages with other nations in a variety of ways including multilateral activity; trade-labour negotiations and implementation; and knowledge sharing. These engagements ensure that New Zealand benefits from international opportunities and knowledge, builds its international influence and meets its international obligations. ‘Guiding Principles for International Engagement’ have been developed to provide direction for this work across the Department.

The Department manages New Zealand’s ongoing obligations as a member of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), including coordinating representation at the annual International Labour Conference and reporting on New Zealand’s application of ratified and un-ratified Conventions. New Zealand’s international obligations have an impact on a wide range of portfolios from the labour and employment perspectives. These connections are with:

• Employment Relations, particularly ILO Conventions but also United Nations Treaties
• Health and Safety, with regard to both ILO Conventions and United Nations treaties
• Immigration, primarily in relation to United Nations treaties
• ACC, particularly in relation to International Labour Organisation (ILO) Conventions.

21. There are also many linkages with the Foreign Affairs and Trade portfolio particularly with regard to managing New Zealand’s relationship with the ILO, reporting on compliance and application of conventions to the ILO and other UN bodies, and labour input to Free Trade Negotiations. In order to fulfil the government’s obligations and input to the ILO, including participating in standard-setting discussions and reporting on conventions, input is often required from a wide range of other departments.
22. The department also carries out a number of other international engagements on an on-going basis, for example with the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC), the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the other parts of the United Nations. The Department also engages bi-laterally with Australia, and, as part of the implementation of existing trade agreements, with Thailand, Brunei, Singapore and Chile. Engagement with Pacific nations in a variety of ways is likely to become an area of increasing activity for the Department
23. The department is actively working to develop enhanced relationships with other jurisdictions. An example of this is the collaborative work being undertaken with Thailand to help improve the Thai workplace services in both employment relations and health and safety. Relationships have been developed with various Australian jurisdictions on health and safety and preliminary discussions are being held about the possibility of information sharing about best practice, enforcement data and technical services expertise. Relationships are also being developing with employment relations delivery agencies/statutory bodies through the International Agencies Forum including UK, USA, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Canada, South Africa and Australia.

Strategic Priorities

Improving workplace productivity

24. Economic growth in New Zealand has resulted from greater labour participation in recent years. Demographics and an historically low unemployment rate mean it is unlikely this trend can continue. Therefore, raising low levels of labour productivity is the key to New Zealand's future prosperity.

Workplace Productivity Agenda

25. In 2004, the Workplace Productivity Working Group identified key areas for implementation of the Workplace Productivity Agenda (WPA) – awareness raising, diagnostic tools, implementation and research and evaluation.

Implementation of the WPA relies as much on the actions of industry/business and unions as it does Ministers and government agencies. A Reference Group (with refreshed membership in early 2007) was set up to encourage workplaces to take positive and voluntary action to improve productivity. A revised workplace productivity toolkit has recently been completed. The Department’s work on Workplace Productivity has been recognised by the ILO, who intend using the work as a model for other countries.

The Department of Labour is currently involved in work that aims to improve:

• leadership & management capability and investing in people and skills
• firm capability
• workplace culture, participation and productive relationships
• organisational design and workplace organisation
• workplace productivity in the public sector
• measuring and reporting of workplace productivity achievements.

Economic Transformation

26. The Department of Labour leads the “innovative and productive workplaces, underpinned by high standards in education, skills and research” subtheme of the economic transformation agenda.

The focus from the outset has been on the development of strong relationships between the range of agencies undertaking activities relevant to the theme, and establishing a platform for engagement with employers, unions and other key external stakeholders. The latter objective has been fulfilled largely through the revitalisation of the skills subcommittee of the Growth and Innovation Advisory Board as the “Innovative and Productive Workplaces subcommittee”. This group, which includes the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions and Business New Zealand, is supporting the work of officials by undertaking a “critical friend” role in providing input into programme and policy development as well as proposing future areas of focus.

Key actions, achievements and on-going work programme for the Innovative and Productive Workplaces subtheme is detailed in the attached table. The key areas of focus for the theme over the coming year are:

Matching skills to the needs of industry to ensure better labour market efficiency.

This work will progress through the development of a unifying skills strategy announced recently by Minister Cullen as the Minister for Tertiary Education. The proposed aim of the strategy is to deliver a unified approach to ensure New Zealand individuals and organisations are able to develop and use the skills needed in the workplaces of the future.

The key goals for the strategy are:

1. Effective utilisation and retention of skills to transform work and workplaces;
2. Increase quality of demand from employers and workers;
3. Influence the supply of skills and create more responsive supply side; and
4. Unified approach to defining, valuing and measuring skills.
5. Officials are currently drafting a Cabinet Policy Committee paper seeking agreement to the development of the strategy and proposing the key work to be undertaken in developing actions.

 The proposed areas of focus are:

• Upskilling the Workforce – this work has been identified as a priority by government and the social partners, and forms a key plank of the Skills Strategy. It has a developed work plan which is currently before Cabinet for consideration.
• Firm Capability – focussing on both employees and employers, there is significant activity in train under this heading through the wider Economic Transformation work, involving NZTE, DoL, and MED.
• Relationship between supply and demand for skills – including the tertiary reforms, this work strand seeks to better articulate the demand for skills and create connections and links between the key players in the demand and supply of skills.
• Measurement of skill acquisition and retention – this work stream is crucial in creating a greater understanding of how well we are doing in regards to skills, and is key to pushing the debate beyond skills acquisition and on to achieving greater skills utilisations.
• Understanding financial investment in skills – its impact and value for money.

It is intended that the skills strategy will intercept with and influence other areas of the Department’s activity including the work on transforming the immigration system, Realising Youth Potential and the Workplace Productivity Agenda (“Building Leadership and Management” and “Investing in People and Skills” are two of the seven drivers of workplace productivity)

Designing a workplace centred view of innovation

This work is designed to feed into the development of the national innovation system and focuses on the role of education and training providers as intermediaries, workplace culture, workplace innovation systems and the use of technology. The work will support the Workplace Productivity Agenda as “Encouraging Innovation and the Use of Technology” is one of the seven drivers of workplace productivity.

The Department of Labour recently hosted a successful workshop involving a range of innovative business owners, business leaders, union representatives, academics and officials to develop potential areas of action to support a more coherent approach to workplace innovation. This work is proposed to be progressed through the oversight of the MoRST led whole of government Innovation Working Group to ensure it is placed in the context of the further development of the national innovation system.

Developing a long-term vision for education

The department is keen to continue to support the range of activities that are currently exploring reforms and improvements to the education system. This includes the work of Secondary Futures, Realising Youth Potential and the implementation of the new curriculum.

In simple terms, our interest is in the development of strategies to ensure the education system produces lifelong learners who have the skills and attributes necessary to ensure they are able to take ownership of skills acquisition throughout their lives. In practice our focus is therefore on the further development of “soft skills” such as innovation and creativity through the formal education process. We are also interested in opportunities for students to have exposure to a range of experiences to allow them to develop and test their skills in a broader range of technical skills areas as a way to support students to consider careers in areas of critical need in the economy, including trades and technical occupations.

Improving the quality of work

Work-life balance

27. Work-life balance is about effectively managing the juggling act between paid work and the other activities that are important to people. Work-life balance is part of the focus for Choices for Living, Caring and Working, a ten-year plan of action to improve the caring and employment choices available to parents and carers.

The work-life balance programme responds to the needs and aspirations of all workers not just those with caring responsibilities.

The core areas of departmental activity aimed at enabling people to better balance their work and care include:

• supporting parents who wish to care for their children themselves in their first year of life (parental leave);
• improving the choices for the one-in-five New Zealanders who are caring for adults of all ages;
• encouraging flexible work practices (quality flexible work);
• supporting the Parliamentary process for the Employment Relations (Flexible Working Hours) Amendment Bill;
• developing workplace tools, research and engagement activities; and an ongoing commitment to evaluation and research.

Pay and Employment Equity Unit (PEEU)

28. The Pay and Employment Equity Plan of Action is about ensuring that remuneration, job opportunities and job choices are not affected by gender. It is based on a partnership approach between employers and unions. Implementation of the Plan of Action entails work being carried out on a range of levels including workplaces and within and across occupations and sectors. Phase one of the Plan covers the Public Service and the public health and public education sectors. Decisions to extend the Plan to phase two, covering Crown entities, state-owned enterprises and local government, were made in May 2007.

Since 2004, 15 of the 38 Public Service organisations have completed their pay and employment equity reviews and the process is now either completed, underway or scheduled. The review and response plan process will be completed in the health sector early in 2008. Reviews in the education sector are proceeding in the schools and tertiary education institutions; kindergartens will commence theirs in 2008.

The Pay and Employment Equity Unit provides technical support and a range of specialist tools for pay and employment equity processes. It develops and delivers training programmes, support for review committees and related resources. It also administers the Contestable Fund to support capacity for unions, employers and employees participating in pay and employment equity reviews. Pay and employment equity work is about improving the capacity of organisations to identify and address pay and employment equity issues.

Pay and employment equity provides opportunities to:

• improve productivity by removing discrimination in recruitment and so opening up wider recruitment pools
• improve supply of needed skills in the labour market
• improve effective utilisation of women’s skills, by providing employment conditions that allow women to take opportunities for higher level work
• build workplaces that better reflect people’s diverse needs, abilities and aspirations
• contribute to a wide range of economic and social benefits, including increased economic independence for women, higher life time earnings and better retirement income for women and improved well-being for families.

Workplace partnerships

29. Workplace partnerships give workers more influence over their workplace. This often leads to high morale, more satisfying work, and greater autonomy. Evidence also shows that partnership leads to better decision making, greater workforce buy-in to decisions, a more committed and flexible workforce and less time wasted on grievances and disputes. The overall benefit is greater productivity, innovation, and improved service delivery.

The Partnership Resource Centre works with employers and unions to help develop and support partnerships by:

• Providing information on partnership
• Supporting capability development for managers, union officials and delegates
• Developing, delivering and disseminating specific resource and training materials, case studies and other tools to support partnership approaches
• Providing opportunities for shared learning and networking
• Providing expert facilitative support.

Workplace Health and Safety Strategy

30. The Workplace Health and Safety Strategy (WHSS) provides a framework for activities by government, local government, unions, employer and industry organisations, other non-government organisations and workplaces. The WHSS aims to:

• Lift New Zealand workplace health and safety performance
• Significantly reduce New Zealand’s work toll
• Raise awareness of workplace health and safety
• Help coordinate and prioritise the actions of wide range of organisations
• Improve the infrastructure that supports workplace health and safety.

The WHSS is structured around a vision and three long term outcomes as well as national priorities which provide a focus for specific groups and hazards of importance.

Implementation of the Strategy requires commitment not only from the government but also from employer and industry organisations, unions, workplaces, and other non government organisations. The Strategy can be used as a basis for working together toward the shared vision of “healthy people in safe and productive workplaces”.

The Workplace Health and Safety Council advises government on workplace health and safety matters at a high level. In particular, Council members will focus on the best ways to make progress with the WHSS. The Council’s tripartite membership includes government, employer and employee perspectives on workplace health and safety.

Ex officio members are the Minister of Labour and Minister for ACC, the chief executive of Business New Zealand, and the president of the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions. The next meeting of the Council is on 12 November 2007.

Ensuring Efficient and Effective Regulation

31. The Department administers several legislative frameworks that regulate workplace standards, including employment relations and workplace health and safety.

The Department is working to improve links across the range of workplace legislation it administers, and strengthen the alignment of policy advice and service delivery. It is expected that this integration will, over time, lead to better outcomes and reduce the compliance burden for workplaces.

Employment relations

The employment relations legislative framework promotes and supports productive employment relationships. It includes:

• The Employment Relations Act 2000
• The Minimum Wage Act 1983
• The Holidays Act 2003
• The Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987
• The Equal Pay Act 1972.

The Department’s work involves:

• Providing information about employment rights and responsibilities, and tools to support more productive employment relationships through the Workplace Contact Centre, the Small Business Information Unit, and the internet
• Enforcing minimum standards set out in legislation
• Administering legislation, for example the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987, through a service level agreement with Inland Revenue for the delivery of paid parental leave entitlements, and
• Providing policy advice on the implementation and effectiveness of the legislative framework and monitoring the institutions that support it (the Employment Relations Authority and the Employment Court). Employment Relations Authority staff are employees of the Department of Labour.
• A successful initiative in employment relations was the Department’s Employment Agreement Builder which lets people draw up a legal employment agreement without leaving their desk – or visiting a lawyer. More than 52,000 agreements have been built using the builder since it went online in February 2004. More than 12,900 agreements have been built using the builder so far in 2007.
• Other initiatives provided by means of online self-help tools include the Holidays Online calculator, launched in March 2007. This tool enables employers and employees to determine entitlements to paid holidays and the relevant rate of pay. There have been 44,717 hits to the holidays online tool webpage since it’s launch to the end of September 2007.
• A further initiative is the Parental Leave Calculator which allows parents to work out their parental leave entitlement. There have been 54,931 hits to the Parental Leave Calculator webpage between 1 Dec 2006 and 31 Oct 2007.
• In 2006/07 there were approximately 1.4 million hits on the department’s websites in relation to health and safety and employment relations issues. Over 240,000 voice enquiries were received by the Contact Centre and over 9,500 E-enquiries.

Workplace health and safety

32. The aim of the Health and Safety in Employment (HSE) Act 1992 is the prevention of work-related injury and illness. Improving the health of the labour force will be important for improving productivity and participation. Poor occupational health and safety practices carry a significant cost to the New Zealand economy, through the injuries themselves and the lower levels of participation in the labour force that result.

The HSE Act does not set minimum standards. Instead it requires employers to use “all practicable steps” to provide a safe working environment for their employees. The standard of what is practicable depends on the circumstances, the availability and cost of preventive measures, and the current state of knowledge, which can change over time.

Workplaces need to manage their use of hazardous substances in accordance with the requirements of the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (HSNO) Act 1996. The HSNO framework aims to protect the environment and the health and safety of people and communities.

The Department’s work involves:

• Providing information about workplace health and safety through the Workplace Contact Centre, the Small Business Information Unit, regional offices, and the internet
• Administering the HSE Act in all places of work, except ships and aircraft in operation (the Maritime Safety Authority and Civil Aviation respectively administer the Act in these workplaces). This role involves policy advice, working with industry sectors to develop practical guidelines, workplace inspections, resolving complaints, prosecutions and injury and disease investigations
• Enforcing the hazardous substances provisions of the HSNO Act in places of work. The HSNO framework is overseen by the Ministry for the Environment and implemented by the Environmental Risk Management Authority in association with a range of enforcement agencies including the Department.
• An online tool for employers to manage their workplace hazards is being developed in conjunction with ACC (The Hazard Handler Tool). This is near completion but a confirmed launch date is not yet available.

Contextual Information

33. The following priority work areas have been identified and agreed with the Minister of Labour as the focus for making New Zealand workplaces work better:

• Influencing change through initiatives to raise the value of work
• Ensuring the effective operation of New Zealand’s employment relations framework
• Ensuring vulnerable workers can effectively access fundamental workplace rights and protections
• Influencing change through initiatives to change the way the value of work is recognised and rewarded
• Improving New Zealand’s workplace health and safety performance
• Increasing the quality of working lives through improvements to the choices available to workers and their employers.
• Ensuring New Zealand benefits from and contributes to the development of international standards and fora
• Gathering, disseminating and using robust research and evaluation information.

The Department also provides ministerial servicing, and administrative and advisory support to the National Advisory Council on the Employment of Women (NACEW) and the National Occupational Health and Safety Advisory Committee (NOHSAC), the Pay and Employment Equity (P&EE) Steering Group, and the Employment Relations Education (ERE) Ministerial Advisory Committee.

34. Workplace’s service delivery covers the following areas:

• Enforcing HSNO Act
• Enforcing the Health and Safety in Employment Act
• Providing mediation and dispute resolution service (including mediation of collective disputes)
• Labour inspection

One of the critical relationships being fostered is with the ACC. There is considerable synergy between DoL’s work on Health and Safety and the ACC’s work around injury prevention. The Department has been working to develop a close working relationship with ACC to ensure effective coordination between the agencies on joined-up work such as the injury prevention and workplace health and safety strategies.

Additional resources via the Health and Safety Levy have been provided to increase the number of front-line staff and to assist the development of standards and guidance on compliance with health and safety.

Immediate Issues - Vote Labour

35. The following issues may have a high profile over the next couple of weeks and the Minister may need to be aware of them or require briefings from the department:

Health and Safety

36. The department is regularly involved in investigating and prosecuting high-risk, high-profile health and safety cases involving death, injury or significant risk of injury.

• Contact Energy found asbestos at the New Plymouth Power Station following concerns raised by a contractor in September 2007. There are risks that worker exposed at the power station may experience adverse health effects. The Department is working with Contact Energy on this issue. There is growing media interest in this issue and the Department will keep you in informed as matters progress.
• Black Reef Mine Prosecution. The Department is prosecuting Black Reef Mine under the Health and Safety in Employment Act for the death of an employee. The court hearing commenced on 29 October 2007. This trial will be closely watched by the mining sector and is likely to get considerable media coverage. There will possibly be renewed interest in whether the Department has sufficient staff experienced in mining and whether our current schedule of visits is sufficient. The Department will be looking to manage the media coverage in conjunction with your office.

Hazardous Substances

• The administration of the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act (HSNO) is complex involving three main agencies – MfE, ERMA and DoL. DoL’s role is enforcement. SENTENCE WITHHELD UNDER SECTION 9(2)(f)(iv) and 9(2)(g)

Employment Relations

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• There are a few high profile industrial disputes underway at the moment. This includes the Senior Doctor’s industrial dispute and the Ports of Auckland dispute.
• o Cabinet has recently agreed to the release of a discussion document on the interface between the Sale of Liquor, Shop Trading Hours Repeal and Holidays Acts, focussed on Easter trading restrictions and holidays entitlements. This discussion document is due to be released in the next week, following caucus consultation on 6 November, and had been prepared with a foreword under the signature of Ministers Dyson and Burton, however, this may need revision given changes to Ministerial portfolios. A press release and Q&As are currently being finalised for the release of this discussion document. This will be provided by 2 November.

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International

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• The Department manages New Zealand’s ongoing obligations as a member of the International Labour Organisation (ILO). We are currently actively working on ratification of the Minimum Age Convention - No. 138.
• Engagement with Pacific nations is likely to become an area of increasing activity for the Department. The ILO is holding a Tripartite Technical Meeting on Decent Work for Pacific Island Countries on 26–28 November 2007 in Nadi, Fiji. New Zealand is sending a delegation consisting of officials from the Department and representatives of the social partners.

Legislation

• The Employment Relations (Flexible Working Arrangements) Amendment Bill, a Private Members Bill under the name of Sue Kedgley MP, is in the Committee stages in the House. The final clause of the Bill (clause 8) entered by SOP by the Hon Ruth Dyson remains for consideration. The Chief Employment Court Judge has very recently raised concerns about the content of this Clause and the Department is seeking a Bill of Rights assessment before advising the Minister (2 November) on possible options (NB. Any options should be relatively simple to incorporate in the timeframe). The Bill is due in the House for continuation of the Committee Stage on 7 November.

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• There are also a number of Labour portfolio related bills which have previously been submitted for the Members’ Bills ballot, which may come before Parliament in the future. If any of these Bills are balloted we can provide you with a briefing on those Bills.

Action required pre Christmas

Cabinet Reports Due

The following Cabinet reports are due in the next 2 months and advice will be provided for you in the next few weeks:

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LABOUR PORTFOLIO KEY CONTACTS

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