BusinessNZ has launched a nationwide campaign 'Your Work, Your Way', calling on Kiwis to reject compulsory FPAs, and stand up for their right to negotiate their own working conditions and pay directly with their employer.
An open letter to the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety has been published today in national newspapers, supported by regional BusinessNZ network groups, chambers of commerce, and other industry groups asking Kiwis to add their name and show their support.
BusinessNZ CEO, Kirk Hope says "With FPA legislation now in Select Committee, we are urging the Government to start listening to the genuine concerns of employers and employees across the country about the negative effects FPAs will have on the way we work.
"At their heart FPAs are about compulsion and mean New Zealand employees and their employers lose control over the way they work and their right to negotiate their own employment conditions. That's not fair.
"At the stroke of a pen FPAs will take away control from Kiwi workers and give it to faceless officials in Wellington who will decide how you work, when you work and how much you will get paid - without any idea who you are and without your consent.
"This campaign is about standing up for Kiwi workers', and their employers' right to choose how they work. We don't think it's okay for your right to negotiate your working conditions with your employer to be stripped away because a small percentage of workers in your industry think it's the right thing to do.
"We agree that the current system needs to improve. But, higher wages come from improved productivity and a more skilled workforce. FPAs won't achieve either of those things. They are a step backward, a solution looking for a problem.
"A far better option is to identify sectors that are facing wage challenges and develop a targeted solution to fix the problems in those few sectors. We don't need a one-size-fits-all, bureaucratic, sledgehammer solution across all sectors.
"Our request to the Government is simple: listen to employers and employees, scrap compulsory FPA legislation and do what your own officials have recommended - improve and strengthen the current system.
"We urge all Kiwis to join our campaign rejecting FPAs and calling for a smarter way of working - Your Work, Your Way" concluded Mr Hope.
