Source: Radio New Zealand
PSA National Secretary Fleur Fitzsimons. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
The government’s mega-ministry is backing down from work from home policy a day before the matter was scheduled for court, the Public Service Association (PSA) says.
The union filed legal action last year after a Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) policy restricting flexible work arrangements was introduced.
The flexible work policy was intended to align with the government’s directive to restrict flexible work arrangements for public service workers, including reducing days working from home.
The PSA claimed the rules ignored existing provisions under the collective agreement.
MBIE lodged a memorandum on Tuesday with the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) which accepted the PSA’s position.
PSA national secretary Fleur Fitzsimmons said an ERA hearing set down for Wednesday and Thursday had been abandoned.
“This is great news for workers who argued all along that MBIE had no right to restrict their right to flexible work arrangements under the collective agreement,” she said.
The ERA would issue a consent determination of a resolution the PSA sought, which accepted MBIE’s flexible work policy and procedures were inconsistent with the collective agreement, Fitzsimmons said.
“This is a victory for MBIE workers and shows the power of a union to challenge an employer who threatens worker rights. ACC backed down too last year when it too backed from limiting working from home in the face of the concerns of workers and the PSA,” she said.
“This capitulation is a damning indictment of MBIE which had enforced the policy with some staff since last year. MBIE denied it was in breach, delaying the hearing at the Authority on numerous occasions. It refused to withdraw the policy. It refused to engage constructively. It went through three rounds of failed mediation. And then, on the eve of the hearing, it folded. Workers deserve an apology.”
The PSA said it would raise personal grievances for any worker disadvantaged by the policy.
Fitzsimmons did not rule out further legal action against other MBIE guidelines that breached the collective agreement., including a revised version of its flexible working policy.
“This is just ridiculous. MBIE still fails to understand that the collective agreement enshrines the ‘flexible by default’ approach common across the public sector. ‘Flexible by default’ is an important right, it means employees have a right to flexible work arrangements which suit their individual circumstances unless there is a good business reason not to,” she said.
MBIE has been approached for comment.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
