The Employment Relations Amendment Bill introduced from March 1 a trial employment period of 90 days for new employees in any business employing fewer than 20 workers.
"It deprives people of their basic employment rights for the first three months, with no right to personal grievance or legal proceedings," she said yesterday in an interview.
Her first stop would be the Service Workers Union, followed by other unions representing low-paid workers in casualised industries.
She believed they would be the most vulnerable to the new law. One of the questions she would be asking was whether unions had any concerns that employers would try to introduce the trial period during the busy holiday period, before the planned March 1 date.
The legislation changed the balance of fairness in employment. Anyone starting a new job took a risk, particularly if they were leaving one job to start another or had moved towns to take up a job.
A clause in the legislation passed on Friday indicated the Government was planning to introduce the trial period to all businesses and employers, Ms Curran said.
"It is likely to be a disincentive to Kiwis living overseas making a decision to come back to New Zealand if they feel the risk is too high. This law runs counter to all messages National campaigned on during the election. It does not protect people; it allows employers far more power to hire and fire at will."
Ms Curran arrived back in Dunedin late on Saturday after Parliament sat under urgency on a Saturday for the first time in about 20 years.
The Government was using urgency provisions to keep the House sitting so it could push through legislation without public scrutiny, she said.
The Opposition expected another busy week ahead as Parliament continued under urgency to complete the Government's "100-days" agenda, even introducing Bills that were not included on the agenda, Ms Curran said.
