You know a minister has to be pretty average for our pinko mate to have a go, but he has pointed out the obvious to Comrade Kate.
A Dunedin-based cleaning company has taken its campaign online saying part of the Employment Relations Act is failing businesses – the site called “vulnerable minister” targets Minister of Labour Kate Wilkinson.
Crest Commercial Cleaning launched the website last week after three years of lobbying the Government to change part 6A of the ERA, which was set up to protect ‘vulnerable’ contract workers.
Under the law if a business changes its contract, ‘vulnerable workers’ are given the right to transfer their employment under the same terms and conditions – the outgoing contactor has a month to notify the new contractor if employees want to transfer.
Crest managing director Grant McLauchlan said the legislation was ambiguous and needed clarity.
He said his company were finding out the day before it took over a new contract.
“We want to be told in due course, because we get to the last day and don’t know if people are electing to transfer – we are left not knowing if we need to recruit our own people.
“It’s so ambiguous, and every time we try and work it out we end up in the employment court.
Personally I don’t think the clause should remain in law at all. A company winning a contract should not be obligated to hire the staff of the losing company.
Comrade Kate needs to be shifted out of industrial relations where she has done nothing in nearly four years, has no timeline for her meaningless changes and believes that employers having a dispute with their workers are bad employers. Lord knows what she is doing in the National Party, maybe she is a cross we all have to bear but for what reason I cannot work out.
