Employers may deduct 10% of partial strike participants' wages
The New Zealand Government has reinstated penalties for employees who participate in partial strikes in a bid to reduce disruption to the community.
The newly passed amendment to the Employment Relations Act grants employers the option to deduct 10% of strike participants' wages or reduce them by a proportionate amount.
The reduction should be based on the identified work that the employee did not perform due to the strike, according to the legislation and employees will also need to be informed via written notification that their pay will be cut before the deduction is made.
"Employers do not have to deduct pay in response to partial strikes – this simply provides an additional tool for how they can respond to a partial strike, if it works for them," the government said in a media release.
The penalty has been reinstated after the previous government removed pay deduction as an option for employers in 2018.
According to the government, a partial strike is an industrial action where employees turn up to work but refuse to carry out parts of the job.
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden said the key benefit of the penalty reinstatement is less disruption to communities.
"Partial strikes had serious impacts on Kiwi families, students, patients, and other workers across our workplaces," the minister said in a statement.
Van Velden added that the change will help both...
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