12. DARIEN FENTON (Labour) Link to this
to the Minister of Labour
Does she agree with any of the conclusions reached by the Department of Labour in its Trial Employment Periods evaluation; if so, which ones?
Hon KATE WILKINSON (Minister of Labour) Link to this
I do agree with some of the conclusions reached by the Department of Labour, but can I say that the evaluation was not exhaustive and in some areas could not be conclusive. However, it has provided some very encouraging indications about how the 90-day trial is helping New Zealanders into jobs.
Hon Darren Hughes
Mr SPEAKERI hear the honourable member. The question asked whether the Minister agreed with any of the conclusions—which the Minister has indicated—then asked: “if so, which ones?”. Being a question on notice, I think the Minister should answer as to which of the conclusions she does agree with—at least, some of them.
Hon KATE WILKINSON Link to this
I agree and I applaud the conclusion that 40 percent of employers using the trial period would not have employed that person if not for the trial period. That has to be a positive benefit of the trial period.
Which statements are correct: the ones from herself and the Prime Minister that this policy has helped those on the margins of the labour market to get jobs, or the Department of Labour evaluation, which found that 72 percent of those hired under the 90-day law were European, while those overrepresented on the margins—Māori and Pacific Islanders—made up only 14 percent and 6 percent respectively?
Hon KATE WILKINSON Link to this
It certainly helped those 72 percent, and also the 14 percent and the 6 percent. The study is not conclusive, but it does show that all types of New Zealanders are making use of the trial period, and they are often getting jobs they otherwise would not have got. That must be positive.
How balanced a view does she think the Department of Labour evaluation has been able to reach on the benefits and risks of the 90-day trial, considering that it talked to or surveyed 3,532 employers and just 13 employees?
Hon KATE WILKINSON Link to this
The study itself is only one part of the toolkit that we have used. We have also been speaking to employees and employers from around the country, and we have received very, very positive feedback. In fact, if we look at this morning’s New Zealand Herald, we see two letters that talk about employers taking on employees whom they would not have employed without a trial period. I think it is a positive development and it is bringing us more in line with what is happening in international jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom and Australia, both of which have more onerous trial provisions.
Did she advise the Prime Minister that the Pizza Hut delivery worker who came to his house has no employment rights or protections against unfair dismissal because he is an independent contractor, and that last year the Prime Minister’s Government voted against workers like that delivery man getting even the minimum wage?
Hon KATE WILKINSON Link to this
I have given no advice to the Prime Minister on the employment status of his pizza delivery man, and neither should I.