2021-07-24 02:36:12 GMT2021-07-24 10:36:12(Beijing Time) Xinhua English
WELLINGTON, July 24 (Xinhua) Legislation doubling employees minimum sick leave entitlement to 10 days came into effect on Saturday, bringing benefits to both businesses and employees, said New Zealand Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Wood.
The move aims to help Kiwis and workplaces stay healthy, Wood said in a statement. COVID-19 has shown us how important it is to stay home when you re sick. By giving people a minimum of 10 days sick leave, we re helping them to do that and stop bugs from spreading, Wood said.
Having a healthy and well-rested workforce also helps businesses, he said, adding studies have suggested that people working while sick are 20 percent less productive and the healthiest workers are up to three times more productive.
The Government is drafting legislation, which will be introduced later this year, and is expected to pass in 2022.
When it comes into force, any union will be able to initiate the FPA process as long as they can demonstrate support from either 10 percent or 1000 employees in the proposed industry or occupation.
FPAs can also be initiated via a public interest test in an industry or occupation where employment issues exist, such as low pay or limited bargaining power.
All employees will be covered by FPAs, even if they aren t already part of a union.
Both employees and employers covered by a proposed FPA will be able to participate in the process. In the case of employers, there will be a small weighting towards small businesses to ensure they have appropriate voice in the process.
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Wood.
Photo: Dom Thomas
It brings into action the system proposed by a working group led by former prime minister Jim Bolger in 2019.
In a statement, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Wood said Fair Pay Agreements (FPAs) would improve wages and conditions for employees, encourage businesses to invest in training, and level the playing field.
Wood said FPAs were about ensuring working Kiwis got a fair go. For too long New Zealanders working in critical roles like cleaners, supermarket workers, and bus drivers whose work was essential to keep our country going during the pandemic, have been undervalued by our workplace relations system, he said.
Meerkat star of new health and safety campaign cost $400,000 to design and bring to life nzherald.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nzherald.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Wood.
Photo: RNZ / Richard Tindiller
For someone working 40 hours on minimum wage, the boost means $44 extra in the bank each week.
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Wood said the minimum wage rise would boost wages across the economy by $216 million.
He said signalling the minimum wage increases over three years helped give businesses much-needed certainty.
He told
Morning Report government looked at a range of factors including a report from MBIE and the timing. We ve seen that the economy is in a stronger position than many people predicted and after the year of Covid we also think that those hardworking cleaners, security guards, checkout workers deserve a good pay rise.