Minister of Labour Simon Bridges can expect to feel some heat as the debate over Part 6A, along with other amendments planned in the Bill, comes before a select committee. He is offside with employers for not going far enough and unions for going too far.
Other changes deeply unpopular with trade unions, include removing the requirement for employers to conclude collective bargaining if negotiations have stalled, the ability to opt out of multi-employer collective agreements (Mecas), and the removal of the 30-day rule which automatically gives new workers the conditions of the collective for the first month.
Other changes, including more flexibility around meal breaks and tightened rules around striking, are also deeply unpopular with the unions. Dunedin businessman Grant McLauchlan, managing director of Crest Cleaning, has led a campaign to help businesses affected by the legislation make submissions through his own website or through the parliamentary submissions site.
He was particularly concerned with Part 6A, which forced companies like his to take on workers on existing wages and conditions when they won new contracts.
Labour Party labour spokeswoman Darien Fenton had received 2000 submissions from low-income workers as submissions closed on Thursday, which she said showed the depth of concern about Government proposals to weaken protections in employment laws.
''The Government is proposing to water down Part 6A of the Employment Relations Act, which will affect cleaners, food service workers, orderlies and laundry workers if their job is contracted out or contractors change hands.''
Mr McLauchlan said there had been a substantial response by businesses to the submission process.
''We've had thousands of submissions calling for the repeal of 6A.''
Part of the reason for winning new contracts was customers not being happy with the existing situation. Part 6A forced companies like his to take on existing staff during what was a competitive tendering process, he said.
He was also concerned that although there was an exemption for companies with fewer than 20 employees, if they were part of a franchise - again like Crest - they could be lumped together and lose the exemption.
But the Government had not made it clear whether it was 20 full-time employees or 20 part-time employees. About half of workers in the cleaning industry were part-time and worked about three hours a week, he said.
Act New Zealand party leader John Banks joined the fray at the weekend, calling on the Government to change the Bill to ensure small franchisees were exempt from Part 6A.
Franchisees were legally and financial separate businesses to their franchisors. They were not joint ventures, related entities or partnerships.
''They do not share in each other's profits and they file their own GST, Paye and tax returns.''
Franchisees with 19 or fewer employers should be treated as small to medium enterprises for the purposes of the proposed 6A exemption, he said.
''How can a business be competitive and increase productivity if they are forced to take on previous staff who may not have been performing well? They firm's ability to perform the contract is reduced, putting all the workers' jobs at greater risk.''
Workers who could have been hired might not be hired. Productivity was reduced, incomes were reduced and the ability of the economy to generate jobs was reduced, Mr Banks said.
Ms Fenton said under Part 6A, vulnerable workers could be sacked or have their wages cut every time a contractor changed hands. That would result in driving down pay and conditions in low-paid industries, making a difficult job even harder.
''Simon Bridges says he will listen carefully to submissions on Part 6A. He needs to start with these workers who can tell him that life is hard enough without being faced with yet more job insecurity,'' she said.
However, Mr McLauchlan said Ms Fenton needed to revisit existing legislation and review it.
''Darien Fenton is so out of tune with employment relations it worries me she could be in government one day. She talks about sacked workers and reduced wages when both of those are protected by Mecas, irrespective of Part 6A. If she is not aware of existing protection, she needs to to back and do more study.''
