Suites données aux recommandations du comité et du Conseil d’administration - Rapport No. 307, Juin 1997

Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body

1. 36. During its last examination of this case at its meeting in November 1996, the Committee requested the Government to continue to keep it informed of any other relevant judgements rendered concerning the implementation of the Employment Contracts Act as well as of any developments in the discussions held with the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU) and the New Zealand Employers' Federation (NZEF) in this regard. The Committee also reaffirmed its previous recommendations and requested the Government to take the necessary measures to implement them. (See 305th Report, para. 50.)
2. 37. In a communication dated 26 February 1997, the Government indicates that there have been no further significant cases relating to freedom of association since its last communication, but that it will continue to keep the Committee informed of any further developments in the case-law as they occur. The Government also states that the new coalition Government has agreed to include proposals to introduce a concept of "fair bargaining" into the Employment Contracts Act (ECA), perhaps through the incorporation of recent court decisions relating to issues such as the obligation to respect the choice of bargaining agent and not undermine the bargaining process by bypassing the agent, thus consolidating the principles established in the Capital Coast Health and subsequent related cases. All interested groups, including employer and employee organizations, will be invited to make submissions as part of the usual process of considering draft legislation. As concerns the recommendation that workers and their organiz
   • ations should be able to call for industrial action in support of multi-employer collective employment contracts, the Government reiterates that there are no plans to remove the prohibition on such action set out in section 63(e) of the ECA since it considers that this provision provides a balance between employees' right to strike and employers' rights not to have to face strike action and incur losses due to the actions of other employers over which they have no control or to be bound into arrangements with competing businesses.
3. 38. The Committee notes this information, particularly as concerns the coalition agreement to introduce the concept of "fair bargaining" into the ECA and requests the Government to keep it informed of the progress made in this regard. As concerns the Committee's recommendation with respect to industrial action in support of multi-employer collective employment contracts (295th Report, para. 261(c)), the Committee once again recalls that the determination of the bargaining level is a matter to be left to the discretion of the parties and that legislation should not constitute an obstacle to collective bargaining at the industry level, whereas section 63(e) of the ECA essentially removes the means of pressure that may be applied for the determination of that level. It therefore reiterates its previous conclusions in this case that workers and their organizations should be able to call for industrial action in support of multi-employer contracts. It requests the Government to keep it informed of any measures taken in the future to amend section 63(e) in this respect.