The bill amends the Employment Relations Act 2000 and related legislation to allow employers to make specified pay deductions when employees undertake a partial strike. It also sets out related notification, recovery, and notice requirements via the Wages Protection Act and confirms the Public Service Commissioner's powers under the Education and Training Act.
Parliament advanced this bill under urgency (committee of whole house, first reading, third reading) — moving it through faster than usual, with less time than normal for public submissions.
These are claims MPs made in Parliament’s debate — not verified facts.
This bill amends the Employment Relations Act 2000 to let employers dock the pay of workers taking part in a partial strike, where staff turn up but refuse some duties, such as declining overtime or particular tasks, rather than stopping work entirely. Employers may choose either a flat 10% pay reduction or a calculated amount reflecting the work not done, must give written notice, and unions can query or challenge the figures. It applies to workers covered by collective agreements.
It reinstates an employer power first created in 2016 and later removed in 2018, restoring an alternative to suspending or locking out partial strikers. Supporters argue it makes bargaining fairer and reduces disruption to public and customer services caused by go-slows. Unions and worker advocates argue it undermines the right to strike, tilts power toward employers, and that a flat 10% deduction can exceed the value of the work actually withheld.
See the Parliament.nz ↗ site for the full bill.