Decent Work New Zealand
Towards Decent Work - Charting our progress
Objective 1: Activities, Strategies and/or Institutional Arrangements Developed to Address each Critical Success Factor
CSF 12: Constructive employment relationships exist.
Activity:
Protection of children at work
Description:
The Government is considering the potential ratification of ILO Convention 138 (Minimum Age of Employment). It is also carrying out a work programme to improve knowledge of existing protections for children at work, compliance with children’s employment rights, and detection of exploitation when it does occur.
Lead Agency:
Department of Labour
Activity:
Extension of paid parental leave to self-employed parents
Description:
Self-employed parents are now eligible for 14 weeks paid parental leave, bringing greater flexibility and equity to the workplace and additional support for working parents. Both employees and the self-employed are now eligible for a subsequent period of paid parental leave if their expected date of delivery or adoption is at least six months after they return to work from previous leave.
Lead Agency:
Department of Labour
Activity:
Parental leave evaluation project
Description:
A three-stage research project to measure the success of the parental leave scheme.
Lead Agency:
Department of Labour
Activity:
Work/Life Balance Project
Description:
The Work/Life Balance project is developing a policy programme to promote a better balance between paid work and life outside of work. A three year work programme is underway which includes a pilot project with workplaces, further policy work on a range of issues, activities to influence change in workplace cultures, and practices and research into work/life balance issues.
Lead Agency:
Department of Labour
Activity:
Work/Life Balance workplace project
Description:
The project identifies and promotes workplace policies and practices that help people to balance participation in paid work with the other activities that are important to them. An advisory group has been established to advise on proposed communications activities and products flowing on from the Workplace Pilots, identify opportunities for awareness raising around work-life balance and identify champions and influencers.
Lead Agency:
Department of Labour
Activity:
Workplace Productivity Agenda
Description:
The Workplace Productivity Agenda lifts productivity through awareness raising, providing workshops through Chambers of Commerce and developing diagnostic tools for businesses. Evaluation will include responses to the diagnostic tool, feedback from Chambers of Commerce and identifying gaps in awareness-raising.
Lead Agency:
Department of Labour
Activity:
Employment Relations Education Ministerial Advisory Committee
Description:
The Committee assesses applications for funding from the Employment Relations Education Contestable Fund; makes recommendations to the Minister of Labour around funding allocations; sets a strategic direction for the Contestable Fund; exercises the power delegated by the Minister of Labour to approve courses of employment relations education and courses of training for Health and Safety representatives. The Department of Labour provides secretariat support for this Committee.
Lead Agency:
Department of Labour
Activity:
The Partnership Resource Centre
Description:
The Partnership Resource Centre helps employers and unions to build new positive workplace partnerships. These partnerships help employers and unions to respond to change, build capability and improve performance, worker contribution and the quality of the workplace for employees.
Lead Agency:
Department of Labour
Activity:
Choices for Living, Caring, and Working Plan of Action
Description:
This ten-year plan improves support for children and families by increasing the choices available for parents and carers. This will enable people to have real choices about how they balance their caring responsibilities, involvement in paid work, time for leisure and learning, and time to be involved with friends, family and the community.
Lead Agency:
Department of Labour
Activity:
Providing information for migrants and increasing awareness amongst employers on the benefits of employing migrants
Description:
The Auckland Chamber of Commerce delivers employment assistance and job-seeking services to migrants via presentations and seminars as well as one-on-one employment finding sessions with individuals as required. The Canterbury Migrant Employment Programme, run by the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce, provides a migrant employment recruitment service for skilled migrants to gain employment and opportunities to improve their job search strategy.
Lead Agency:
Chambers of Commerce, Department of Labour
Activity:
Increasing awareness of the benefits of migrant employment and increasing employment opportunities for skilled migrants throughout New Zealand and internationally
Description:
Effective management of the New Kiwis migrant recruitment service via the www.newkiwis.co.nz and www.nzrecruitme.co.nz websites. The newkiwis website focuses upon relationship building with potential and registered employers to promote the benefits of employing migrants in the workplace. While the nzrecruitme website complements the newkiwis service and matches the skills of prospective migrants to the business community.
Lead Agency:
Department of Labour, Auckland Chamber of Commerce
Activity:
Providing information to employers on the Immigration Act 1987 to encourage compliance in the workplace
Description:
The Compliance Branch of the Border and Security Group undertakes employer site visits. Information is provided to employers on how to determine if someone is legally entitled to work in New Zealand, and the penalties for employing illegal workers.
Lead Agency:
Department of Labour
Activity:
Iwi labour market development
Description:
Collaborative approach to support iwi labour market development issues, including the use of interactive labour market tools. Such tools can assist the decision making process through enabling iwi to develop a better understanding of relevant labour market conditions.
Lead Agency:
Department of Labour
Activity:
Recognised Seasonal Employer Scheme
Description:
The Recognised Seasonal Employer Scheme is an immigration policy which facilitates the temporary entry of seasonal workers into New Zealand to fill shortages in New Zealand’s horticulture and viticulture industries when no New Zealanders are available. This scheme encourages Pacific people to return year after year, and build up their skills and productivity.
Lead Agency:
Department of Labour
Activity:
Inspections on board vessels to protect working conditions
Description:
Inspection for compliance in accordance with relevant recognised ILO/International Maritime Organisation standards and parallel New Zealand standards.
Lead Agency:
Maritime New Zealand
Activity:
Small Business Advisory Group
Description:
This group provides ongoing advice to the Ministerial Group on Small Business on any issues affecting small and medium-sized enterprises. It identifies issues, suggests priorities, explores solutions, provides assistance and advice to government departments on dealing with SMEs and provides suggestions on ways for enhancing SME and government agency performance.
Lead Agency:
Ministry of Economic Development
Activity:
Increase union density and the extent of collective bargaining in the aged care and disability sectors in order to improve wages
Description:
The NZCTU works with the Service and Food Workers Union (SFWU) and the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) to improve wages and employment conditions in the aged care sector through collective agreements. The unions are jointly co-ordinating the Fair Share for Aged Care campaign. The NZCTU also works with the Public Service Association (PSA) and the SFWU in their campaign to improve wages and conditions for disability sector care workers through a focus on increasing coverage of collective agreements.
Lead Agency:
New Zealand Council of Trade Unions
Activity:
Campaigning for and providing training on pay and employment equity
Description:
NZCTU-affiliated unions participate in and lead training around pay equity reviews and pay investigations in the core public sector, public health and education sectors. A focus on pay and employment equity in the local government sector has just commenced as part of Phase 2 of the Pay and Employment Equity Plan of Action. The NZCTU also comments on gender pay gaps, makes submissions on gender equity and reviews trends in the gender pay gap.
Lead Agency:
New Zealand Council of Trade Unions
Activity:
Unions working to improve workers’ wages and conditions
Description:
Unions engage in collective bargaining for existing members and also work to re-unionise the workforce to increase the number of workers covered by collective agreements. The NZCTU supports affiliates’ wages campaigns.
Lead Agency:
New Zealand Council of Trade Unions
Activity:
Campaigning for improvements to work/life balance
Description:
Unions and the NZCTU campaign for improvements to hours of work, breaks, leave and other conditions through collective bargaining and discussions with the Department of Labour on improvements to the minimum code.
Lead Agency:
New Zealand Council of Trade Unions
Activity:
Campaigning to improve conditions of work for mothers
Description:
Through advocacy and awareness-raising, the NZCTU is campaigning for improvements to conditions of work for mothers, such as breastfeeding breaks, via legislation and through collective agreements. The NZCTU also trains union delegates to help them raise these issues with employers.
Lead Agency:
New Zealand Council of Trade Unions
Activity:
Managing the effects of redundancies and company changes on workers
Description:
The NZCTU works with businesses and Government to help manage the effects of redundancies and company changes. It advocates for greater use of active labour market policy and is participating at a tripartite level in the development of “security in change” initiatives.
Lead Agency:
New Zealand Council of Trade Unions
Activity:
Health and safety education and training
Description:
The NZCTU raises awareness amongst unions and their members about workers’ rights to participate in injury prevention management. The NZCTU provides three levels of health and safety representative training, with over 20,000 representatives now trained. Additional targeted training is undertaken with companies involved in the ACC Partnership Programme.
Lead Agency:
New Zealand Council of Trade Unions
Activity:
Public Service Association Partnership for Quality and Public Service Tripartite Forum
Description:
The Public Service Association has entered its third quality agreement with the Government. The Public Service Tripartite Forum allows regular meetings between union members to discuss key workplace issues and processes.
Lead Agency:
Public Service Association
Activity:
Union advocacy and guidance on health workforce issues
Description:
The health sector unions have a Health Tripartite Forum and bipartite meetings with District Health Boards to help maintain constructive relationships and improve conditions of work for health sector workers.
Lead Agency:
New Zealand Council of Trade Unions
Activity:
Industry development projects
Description:
The NZCTU runs projects in the forestry and food and beverage sectors and with Maori workers to increase worker participation in industry decision-making and develop improved industry standards.
Lead Agency:
New Zealand Council of Trade Unions
Activity:
Kaimahi Maori - Maori Worker Education Project
Description:
An initiative of the NZCTU Runanga, this project draws on Matauranga Maori – indigenous models of leadership and knowledge – to promote skills development through participation in the union movement.
Lead Agency:
New Zealand Council of Trade Unions