Bad medicineHOW TO MAKE A SELECT COMMITTEE

SUBMISSION ABOUT THE EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS AMENDMENT BILL

Submissions close 25 July 2013

ERA Bad medicine: How to make a submission

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ContentsIntroduction .............................................................................................................................................2The Employment Relations Amendment Bill: What is the Government proposing? ...............................................................................................................3

What is the timeline for the Bill? ...........................................................................................7

What can I do? ....................................................................................................................................... 8

Organise a group of members in your workplace to write a submission together ........................................................................................................................ 9

Write your personal submission ............................................................................................ 9

Submission example ...................................................................................................................... 10

Speaking to the select committee ......................................................................................11

Other advice ...........................................................................................................................................12

Afterwards ...............................................................................................................................................13

Information and resources ........................................................................................................13

Support from NZNO .......................................................................................................................13

Introduction The Government is planning more changes to our employment law.

The changes in the Employment Relations Amendment Bill are bad for the workforce, and bad for our families and communities. They will help tip the balance further in favour of employers and push down wages and conditions.

We need to campaign against the Bill and tell the government we want fair employment laws.

Even if you’ve never made a submission before, or don’t feel you know much about Parliament, now is the time to get involved.

The government needs to hear our voices, and talking to MPs on the select committee dealing with the Bill is one of the most important ways we can get some focus on our concerns.

In this guide you will find everything you need to get going.

Use the examples in the text boxes as inspiration for your own submission.

“We need a law to lift wages, not reduce them”

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The Employment Relations Amendment Bill: What is the Government proposing?Employers will be able to walk away from bargainingYour employer will be able to apply to the Employment Relations Authority to declare bargaining is over. Once that happens:

employers will be able to put pressure on individuals to agree to lesser pay and conditions

any industrial action will be unlawful for two months.

“Our MECA means DHBs and NZNO must work collaboratively for things that are important to us, such as healthy and safe workplaces. It provides robust consultation processes that are clear so we can hold our employer to account.

The DHB MECA sets out clear processes to be followed in times of change and everyone understands the processes. Without those there would be too much uncertainty and potentially chaos. Our MECA is beneficial for our employer, ourselves and the people we care for.”

“NZNO members want to know that we are being treated fairly and equitably. It is important for us to know that we are being treated the same, especially when we work in teams and are reliant on each other to provide good quality care.”

“Our MECA is the way that we all understand our rights and obligations and that we share the same rights and obligations with our team members. Equity and fairness at work relies on our being given the right to be represented in bargaining as well as the right to retain our MECA even when the going gets tough.”

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Employers able to opt out of MECA bargainingEmployers will be able to withdraw from bargaining for multi-employer collective agreements (MECAs) by giving 10 days’ notice after initiation of bargaining – this could dismantle MECAs that have brought steady improvements in pay and conditions for union members.

New staff will be employed on less pay and worse conditionsRight now, new employees are covered by the collective agreement in their workplace for the first 30 days. This protection is to be stripped away so they can be paid less. Over time this will reduce everyone’s pay and conditions.

“MECA bargaining has resulted in nurses, midwives and other members of the nursing team achieving the same pay rate for the same job regardless of where you work. We have also achieved parity with other similar occupations such as teachers. This needs to continue and our MECA needs to be maintained because if our wages fall or do not keep up with comparative professions, many of us will be joining our former colleagues living abroad.”

“Quality care for the elderly living in my workplace really matters to me. Every year in negotiations for our collective agreement we try to improve staffing levels so that we have the time to do the little things that make the residents’ lives better. These changes are almost always resisted by our employer and if they had the chance to end bargaining in order to avoid addressing issues of unsafe staffing levels I believe they would.”

“Fairness and equity are important to NZNO memebrs, that’s why many of us became health professionals in the first place. It’s not right that new employees won’t get the coverage and security of our collective agreement for the first 30 days. We all need to be secure in our jobs right from the start so we can focus on learning the ropes and providing the highest quality of care.”

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“Everyone knows that nurses don’t take industrial action on a whim. We care deeply for the well-being of our patients. When we do vote to take action it’s a last resort and for very important reasons. To strip us of this right removes our voice altogether.”

“Many of us see partial industrial action, like not working overtime, or not answering the phone, as a way to make our concerns heard without putting patient care at risk. We go the extra mile every day - it would be so unfair if employers could cut our pay for doing that.”

“What we want is a level playing field. These changes are taking away our employment rights and protections. We have families to feed just like everyone else. Stripping our job protection is not fair.”

Impact on industrial action It will be more difficult for members to take industrial action for better pay and conditions. Your employer will be able to deduct up to 10 percent of your pay for partial strike action, such as not answering the phone.

Job protection will be stripped awayAt present, the law protects the jobs and conditions of vulnerable employees, such as cleaning, food catering staff and orderly staff, when a contract changes hands. The government plans to strip away this protection for workplaces with fewer than 20 employees. These workers will have no job security when a contract changes to a new employer.

“Those of us who work in the aged care sector already earn some of the lowest wages in the country. This law change will mean that we will have no job protection and no guarantee that our pay will at least stay the same when the owners change.”

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No access to your employment informationIf your job is under threat, your employer may be able to withhold information from you if, for example, it relates to evaluative or opinion material provided to the employer by other staff. This could make it difficult to defend yourself in a disciplinary situation or to challenge a redundancy.

“If something happens at work and we have to go through a disciplinary process, it’s only fair that we have access to all our personal information. It doesn’t make sense that our employer could withhold it. There’s no justice in that!”

Meal and rest breaksIn some jobs, employees may lose the right to take regular, designated meal and rest breaks. This is not good for safety and can result in increased fatigue.

“The work I do is hard. It takes a lot of emotional energy and physical effort to provide good care and the consequences of getting things wrong can be life threatening for the people I care for. The changes to the law on breaks puts the residents and myself at risk. If I do not get a break it will increase the chances of drug errors and missing those small but important cues that let me know when something is about to go wrong with a patient or resident.”

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What is the timeline for the Bill?1. The Bill was read in the House for the first time on 5 June 2013.

2. The Bill was referred to the Transport and Industrial Relations select committee.

3. Public submissions opened on 13 June 2013 and close on 25 July 2013.

4. After submissions close, the select committee reports back to the House, with recommendations about any changes made as a result of submissions it has heard.

5. The Bill is then read for a second and third time. During this time opposition MPs have the chance to put up amendments (called Supplementary Order Papers) to try to change the Bill or slow it down.

6. If enough MPs vote for the Bill at the second and third readings, the Bill is enacted and becomes a new law.

“We need a law that strengthens collective bargaining”

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It is important that a large number of people make submissions - and ask to be heard by the select committee.

If enough people ask to be heard, the select committee may make the decision to travel the country hearing people’s concerns. We’d like that to happen.

Even if they don’t travel, the committee will hear people’s submissions by phone.

More people who want to be heard means more time for the select committee to consider our views and more time for us to raise awareness of the impact the changes would have.

Past experience shows that when NZNO members speak up in Parliament it can have powerful results!

What can I do?Make a personal submission to the select committee or,Make a personal submission to the select committee and ask to speak to the committee in person as well or,Make a form submission at union.org.nz/whycutourpay

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Organise a group of members in your workplace to write a submission togetherThis is a great thing to do, and you can appear as a team before the select committee.

We’ll give you all the support you need. If you don’t feel confident enough to speak, consider being part of the support team for someone else.

Write your personal submissionThis booklet contains all the information you need to make a submission.

Don’t forget to ask to be heard by the committee and send or email NZNO a copy of your submission.

Make a submission on the pull-out form at the centre of this bookletFollow the simple instructions on the pull-out submission form, fold, tape and pop it in the mail to NZNO (no stamp required).

Post your submission directly to the select committee Send two copies of your submission (no stamp required) to:

The Transport and Industrial Relations Select Committee, Parliament Buildings, Wellington

Make your submission onlineMake your submission online on the CTU site or the Parliamentary site.

CTU online submission form union.org.nz/whycutourpay/submission

Parliamentary online submission form www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/PB/SC/MakeSub

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Submission

Sally Smith 1 Sugarloaf Road Brooklyn Wellington

Ph: 1234567 sallys@gmail.com

2 July 2013

Clerk of the Committee Transport and Industrial Relations Select Committee Parliament Buildings Wellington

Dear Committee members

RE: Employment Relations Amendment Bill

I wish to make a personal submission about the above Bill.

Introduce yourself, your skills, training and experience.

Be clear that you are giving your submission as an NZNO member and individual, not on behalf of your employer.

List your main points and concerns about the Bill. Let the committee know how the changes would impact on you, your family and your colleagues.

Write from the heart.

I wish to be heard by the Committee.

Yours sincerely

Your details here

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Speaking to the select committeeThis is called an ‘oral submission’. It is an opportunity for you to meet the Government committee working on the proposed law changes, and to back up your written submission by making your arguments in person.

You may need to apply for leave if you are invited by the select committee to speak to your submission.

You will speak to around nine or ten MPs from different political parties. You will probably be given five to ten minutes to present your submission.

If you leave some time for introductions, and questions from the committee, you could prepare for about three to four minutes of your own time at the start, to re-state your main opposition to the changes.

The main thing is to not just read your submission out loud. The committee will have already read it. So think about three or four main points you want to get across, and make some notes about these.

If you are asked to speak to the committee, please get in touch with your NZNO organiser or campaigns adviser Huia Welton, huiaw@nzno.org.nz so that we can support you on the day and beforehand.

How to use your timeIntroduce yourself, who you are, where you work and say that you are an NZNO member. Tell the committee a bit about yourself; your skills, background and experience, how long you’ve been doing your job. It makes your presentation more memorable and adds mana to what you say.

Explain what parts of the proposed law changes you want to talk about and why. You can talk about as many or as few of these changes as you wish.

Say why those changes matter to you as a worker. Give personal examples from your own workplace and your own life.

Conclusion – Thank the committee for its time. State that you oppose the specific changes in the Bill you have talked about and you recommend that those changes do not continue.

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Other advice Practice your submission. Brainstorm some likely questions and think

about how you might respond.

Arrive early if you can, so that you can see other submissions, and how the process works. Be prepared to be called early, or late. Often the committee will not be running exactly to timetable.

Feel free to bring friends, family and colleagues with you.

Speak directly to the chairperson of the committee, not the other MPs.

Be ready for questions.

Because of your job, you may know some information that is not in the public domain. Be careful not to reveal any information that is confidential.

If there are some points in your submission that members of the select committee disagree with, they may ask you some questions about that. While they won’t be rude, they may be quite pushy. Be ready to stand by your statements!

Be ready for friendly questions from the select committee too. Try not to give them a yes/no answer!

“We need a strong economy based on decent wages and working conditions”

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AfterwardsHold a debrief - feed back your ideas for further activity. Past experience is that NZNO members find the select committee process very inspiring and have lots of ideas about what to do next!

Let us know!

Information and resourcesNZNO ERA: Bad medicine webpage www.nzno.org.nz/badmedicineThis page contains a downloadable factsheet and information about how to join and support the campaign.

CTU Why cut our pay webpage union.org.nz/whycutourpayThis page contains video clips, detailed factsheets about each aspect of the Bill and more information on how to join and support the campaign.

Parliamentary guide to making a submission to a select committee http://goo.gl/CD6Id

Support from NZNOIf you need any help at all, or if you are unsure about anything, talk to your NZNO organiser or email NZNO campaigns adviser Huia Welton huiaw@nzno.org.nz

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Level 3, Willbank Court, 57 Willis Street, Wellington 6011 PO Box 2128, Wellington 6140

Phone 0800 28 38 48

www.nzno.org.nz

06/2013