Darien Fenton’s Redundancy Protection Bill is before the House this week (provided National doesn’t cancel Private Members’ Day again).
80% of Kiwis (basically, the non-unionised ones) don’t have any redundancy protection. If they lose their jobs, they’re out on their arse with nothing. All other developed countries, except the US of course, have protections in place for workers who lose their jobs and income through no fault of their own.
Fenton’s Bill will provide all New Zealanders with a minimum right to:
a) notice of dismissal of no less than 4 weeks; and
b) compensation for redundancy in the amount of 4 weeks’ remuneration for the first full year of the employee’s continuous employment with the employer; and
c) further compensation for redundancy in the amount of 2 weeks’ remuneration for each subsequent full or partial year of the employees’ continuous employment with the employer, up to a maximum entitlement of 26 weeks’ remuneration.
That’s based on minimums that unionised workers receive.
Will the Bill pass? Labour, Anderton, and the Greens are behind it. Last I heard, the Maori Party were going to back it. ACT are against it, of course. But National is said to still be mulling it over.
Help John Key make the right decision for all the working Kiwis who are still losing their jobs every week. If you have any of the Hard Times postcards around, mail them off. Or email Key at j.key@ministers.govt.nz and tell him to do the right thing.
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