Employment Relations in Aotearoa New Zealand - An Introduction

Preface ix 

1. Introduction and overview of employment relations Erling Rasmussen; Felicity Lamm; and Julienne Molineaux 1 Introduction 1 

What are employment relations? 3 

Interest groups 8 

Employee versus contractor? 15 

Employee rights and the Employment Institutions 18 

References 25 

2. Theoretical frameworks and their application Erling Rasmussen; Felicity Lamm; and Julienne Molineaux 29 Introduction 29 

Systems approach 31 

Conflict frames of reference approach 36 

The application of frames of reference 41 

Multidisciplinary perspectives 44 

Multidisciplinarity fosters theoretical tensions and dynamic growth 47 

Conclusion 52 

References 53 

3. Turning points in Employment Relations pre-2000 Erling Rasmussen; Felicity Lamm; and Julienne Molineaux 57 Introduction 57 

Early conflict 59 

The Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration system 60 

Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1894 61 

Turning point 1: The initial years of the conciliation and arbitration system 63 

Turning point 2: The 1930s economic depression and reforms by the Labour Government from 1935 onwards 63 

Turning point 3: The waterside dispute of 1951 and the strengthening of the Industrial Conciliation & Arbitration system 65 

Turning point 4: The Industrial Relations Act 1973 66 

Turning point 5: Decentralisation under the Fourth Labour Government, 1984-1990 67 

The state unions and the public sector reforms of the 1980s 69 

Employment relations in the 1990s 71 

The shift in employment relations philosophy 73 

The Employment Contracts Act 1991 74 

Outcomes: union density and collective bargaining 77 

Outcomes: the changing status of employment law in the 1990s 79 

Outcomes: key labour market changes during the 1990s 81 

Outcomes: the unfulfilled expectations of stronger productivity growth 83 

Conclusion 85 

References 90 

4. Employment Relations in the new millennium Erling Rasmussen; Felicity Lamm; and Julienne Molineaux 95 Introduction 95 

Key employment relations debates of the 2000s 98 

The three phases of the Employment Relations Act 2000 102 

Unions, bargaining outcomes and labour market changes 113 

Employment law under the Employment Relations Act 118 

Conclusion 120 

References 122 

5. The legislative support structure Felicity Lamm; Erling Rasmussen; and Julienne Molineaux 127 Introduction 127 

Occupational Health and Safety 128 

Privacy Act 134 

Human Rights Act 142 

Conclusion 151 

References 152 

Current Legislation 155 

International Instruments 155 

Enquiries 156 

6. Changing work, employment and workplace practices Erling Rasmussen; Gemma Piercy-Cameron; and Michael Fletcher 157 Introduction 157 

Labour market issues 158 

Covid-19 and the labour market 160 

Labour market and employment trends 161 

Immigration and working hours 168 

Vocational education and training 170 

The perennial problem of weak productivity growth 180 

Workplace change, partnerships and employee participation structures 186 

Conclusion 190 

References 191 

About the authors 199 

Acknowledgements 201