The government’s proposed Fair Pay legislation “is deeply flawed” and will potentially force retailers to operate shorter trading hours or cut staff, according to Retail NZ. 

Reacting to the bill’s reporting back to a select committee this week, Retail NZ CEO Greg Harford said if the legislation is passed into law it will be administratively burdensome, add to the cost of living crisis, and ultimately lead to fewer and less flexible employment opportunities for New Zealanders”. 

“The bill aims to remove flexibility, and is badly thought through. It will have massive implications,” said Harford. 

“While businesses in the retail sector aspire to be good employers, the bill will take New Zealand back to a 1970s era of industrial relations, and will likely lead retailers to increase prices, consider reducing store hours, and drive automation to replace jobs.”

Harford said provisions that could allow less than half a per cent of workers to kick-start a process to change employment conditions could literally impact hundreds of thousands of jobs. 

“The outcomes of a process will be legally binding, and employers will be punished for not complying, but there is no requirement that all employers are even made aware of the process. In fact, the bill as reported back from Select Committee reduces the requirement for businesses and employees to be informed,” said Harford.

“It’s important that workers are paid appropriately, but the flawed ‘Fair Pay’ bill is not the way to achieve better outcomes. Retail NZ is repeating its call for the government to ditch the legislation.”

Retail NZ commissioned independent research earlier this year to gauge New Zealanders’ views on the proposed legislation.

The research found just 29 per cent of respondents thought it was a good idea. 

Furthermore, said Harford, the research showed Kiwis are concerned by the impacts ‘Fair Pay’ Agreements will have on their daily shopping. Three in four are concerned about price increases, 63 per cent are concerned about Fair Pay surcharges, 60 per cent are concerned about potential increased freight costs for online shopping, and 49 per cent are concerned about reduced retail store hours.