Labour Day has been our way of celebrating, or ignoring, the successes of united workers for the past 123 years. Now the trade union movement's battle for employee rights has a new front line: precarious work. Bruce Munro takes a look at the ongoing struggle.
His partner is studying to become a dental therapist. So, to try to earn a liveable income, Mr Grant has also worked as a cleaner, a shearer and a trade union organiser - often running two or three jobs at the same time.
''I'd finish the night shift at midnight, then clean from 3am to 7am,'' Mr Grant said.
''There was a period there when I had to shear in the mornings too. I was up for 40 hours straight.
''It was the only way I could make ends meet, without going back to doing illegal things.''
Precarious work, casualisation, insecure employment are all synonyms for a worrying and growing trend that affects an estimated 635,000 New Zealand workers, Peter Conway, New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU) secretary, said.
''More and more employers are using casual labour, contracting out, and more and more flexibility on hours of work, alongside fixed terms or trial periods,'' Wellington-based Mr Conway said.
''For workers, the harm done by such arrangements is that they cannot rely even week to week on a reasonably secure income.''
In practice, it means the daily stress of trying to pay for food, power, phone, clothes, school expenses ... When you are earning $15.38 gross an hour serving chicken and chips and $13.80 gross an hour washing windows, paying the bills is no mean feat.
''We make sure our girls are able to maximise their schooling opportunities,'' Mr Grant said.
''The only thing they are missing is the treat stuff.''
''Papa pays the rent. My father-in-law lives here ... We're lucky we have him.''
Casualisation of labour is a way for businesses to avoid paying their employees what they are worth, and a way of ensuring workers toe the line, Mr Grant said. It was why he took the opportunity to work as a part-time trade union organiser for several months.
''There is a lot of mistreatment in the fast-food industry.
''They [the union] were trying to improve working conditions.''
Precarious work is a long-term international trend that has not improved since National came to power five years ago, Mr Conway said.
It was the Employment Contracts Act in 1991 which seriously altered New Zealand's employment relations landscape in favour of employers. Labour's ''soft package'' of reforms, introduced when it was last in government, did not fundamentally change that equation, Mr Conway said.
Allowing, for example, employers to dismiss workers during the first 90 days of employment without any right of appeal was ''a very extreme measure''.
There has been a whole raft of changes since 2008 which have amounted to ''a relentless weakening of protections for workers''. Further changes being considered by a parliamentary select committee would only make the situation worse, Mr Conway said.
Among several items of concern to trade unions in the Employment Relations Amendment Bill 2013 is a plan to repeal the rule requiring employers covered by a collective agreement to pay new employees rates at least equivalent to the collective agreement for the first 30 days.
''They are taking that away. And in the cabinet papers, they say it will allow employers to pay less.
''In essence it is all to undermine the ability of workers through collective bargaining to lift wages.
''So it is very significant, coming on top of what they have already done.''
Prof Alan Geare does not agree.
The University of Otago employment relations researcher says trade unionists are overstating the negative impact of National's past and proposed changes, just as the Government is overplaying the potential benefits.
Extending the 90-day rule to apply to all workplaces, for example, was, in Prof Geare's opinion ''a political thing to appease the small-business lobby''.
''I think a lot of it has been cosmetic and political rather than affecting the average employer and employee. On the margin some people will be benefited or hurt, but only on the margin.''
For Mr Grant, the as-yet-unattainable dream is being able to save for a deposit on a family home.
He recognises he is not alone in this predicament. Of the estimated 635,000 New Zealanders in precarious work situations, 192,000 are in temporary, casual, fixed-term or seasonal employment.
''You won't get a deposit for a house working for these guys unless you started when you were 16 and were able to save that money up while you were living at home with your parents,'' Mr Grant said.
''Becoming self-employed is something I'd like to look at. I reckon that's the only way you can make it.''
Time for a cuppa
The NZCTU is calling on workers to show their opposition to employment law changes by taking a tea break this Wednesday. The Employment Relations Amendment Bill 2013 proposes several changes including removing automatic entitlement to meal and refreshment breaks. Unions are asking employees to get together and take photographs of themselves having a tea break, and then post the photo, along with a message opposing the Bill, via social media sites.
