New Zealand’s Fair Pay Agreements to create level playing field for workers

New Zealand’s Fair Pay Agreements Bill is set to create a level playing field for workers, allowing them to negotiate for minimum wages and better working conditions across industries. 

The bill has so far passed its first reading, and the Council of Trade Unions has endorsed the legislation.

“This bill will help stop the race to the bottom. It will enable good faith bargaining at the sector level to overcome inequalities that have developed over the past 30 years,” said Minister of Workplace Relations Michael Wood, reports RNZ. 

The government also hopes that the new legislation would be able to create an environment in which good employers are not disadvantaged by paying reasonable, industry-standard wages.

READ: New Zealand introduces Fair Pay Agreements Bill

However, whether or not the legislation gets implemented falls squarely on the Labour Party, as both the National Party and the ACT Party have promised it would not survive under their watch.

National’s workplace relations spokesperson Paul Goldsmith has said that his party would repeal the legislation, noting that the potential new laws were not about fair pay.