Tea breaks - are they really under threat?

  • Breaking
  • 30/10/2014

It's been a busy week in politics, from the 'tea break' Bill to the Prime Minister opening up about what he called "the campaign from hell".

Labour MP Megan Woods says the Bill, officially known as the Employment Relations Amendment Bill, gives New Zealand "some of the weakest protections for workers in the OECD".

She says workers will now have to negotiate with their employers just to get a tea break, and the most vulnerable workers are going to see it taken away from them.

The Bill also takes aim at collective bargaining, which she says will see wages drop.

But National MP Jami-Lee Ross says Ms Woods is wrong, and that without discussion between the employer and employees, the tea break is there.

"The default is you have a tea break, so to say that you have to negotiate to have one, is wrong."

So how will the Bill create better wages and jobs? Will it? And is the Holidays Act the next piece of legislation the Government wants to change?

Watch the video for the full chat with Megan Woods and Jami-Lee Ross.

source: newshub archive