Volume 26   Number 2 June  2001  ARTICLES: International Labour Organisation Conventions 87 and 98 and the Employment Relations Act Paul Roth One of the two principal aims of the Employment Relations Act (ERA) as set out in s.3(b) is: "to promote observance in New Zealand of the principles underlying  International Labour Organisation Convention 87 on  Freedom of Association, and Convention 98 on the Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively." The relevant International Labour Organisation (ILO) principles are therefore important in elucidating the purpose behind certain provisions in the legislation and aiding in their interpretation and application. Accordingly, the ability to identify, understand, and deploy these ILO principles will be essential under the new labour law regime.

Paid work has been an important source of satisfaction, self-reliance and social identity for much of the twentieth century (Dahrendorf, 1999:11), but the substantial changes that have occurred in the last decades of the century have fundamentally altered the nature of employment, employment relations and employment security. While transitions within and between employment and work are a routine feature of all working lives (Walby, 1991:176) has noted that the point of change provides important information about the social and economic processes at work. The transitions which are an important focus of the present research indicate something of the nature of the movement between different types of employment and the way in which individuals and households seek to enhance their access to paid work of various sorts. However, whatever strategies are adopted, they must contend with the changing context of work and especially employment.

This article discusses the employment of Kiribati seafarers on German owned and flagged shipping. The authors examine the origins of the German shipping industry sponsored training and recruitment programs on the Kiribati atolls. The implications of the creation of a manorial "internal" labour market for German container shipping in the South West Pacific is assessed. The impact of labour participation in the international shipping industry on Kiribati's former fisherfolk is also examined. Research methods emphasise semi-structured interviews with relevant actors. The authors relate the Kiribati seafarers' experience to the general "flag of convenience" and "crews of convenience" phenomenon, arguably the central issue in the industrial and social study of global merchant shipping.

This paper examines the issue of the right to refuse work on the grounds of health and safety. It is structured around three themes. First, the way in which the right to refuse unsafe work is currently established in New Zealand law is examined. The second major component is an examination of the application of the right to refuse unsafe work in Canada, the USA and New Zealand through analysis of relevant cases that have been tried in the respective jurisdictions. The paper concludes with policy recommendations to shift proactive system of statutory duties and obligations on all the parties involved in the employment relationship. The authors suggest that an alternative process for the right to refuse unsafe work would improve the enforcement of both the principles and the provisions of the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992.

RESEARCH NOTES:

Equal Employment Opportunity: Outcomes in the New Zealand Public Service
Fiona Edgar

Two main assumptions have emerged in the literature concerning the most efficient means of achieving desirable Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) outcomes in the workplace. Some argue that this issue best dealt with under a voluntarist regime whereby individual organisations have discretion over whether and how they will deal with EEO, whilst others hold the view that positive results are more likely with the imposition of obligations or legislative requirements (Lunt and Pernice, 1999). This paper evaluates the EEO performance of the New Zealand public service, which is required to operate EEO policies and programmes (Section 56, State Sector Act, 1988). The impact of the legislation is assessed by examining the representation rates of women, Maori, and people with disabilities in the public service compared to their rates of representation in the wider labour force.

There are large gaps between ethnic groups in rates of participation in employment-related training in New Zealand. Policies to raise participation rates need to be informed about the types of barriers most frequently encountered by disadvantaged groups. This note uses labour force survey evidence to show that the barriers to training that are felt with relatively greatest frequency by Maori and Pacific Islanders relate to family circumstances and access to childcare. Although the cost of training is a commonly mentioned barrier for Maori and Pacific Islanders, it is a barrier that is encountered with similar frequency across all ethnic groups.

This paper reports on the findings of research on performance appraisal of sports coaches in New Zealand. Many New Zealand sports have moved towards professional or semi-professional models of operation over the last five years. While sports may consider themselves professional, many of the practices they use are far from professional. Performance appraisal is one such practice, with a history of being a technique to fire coaches, rather than being used for the organisational and individual goal of coach development. This research examines factors considered important in the performance appraisal of sports coaches in the development of a performance appraisal template.

CHRONICLE:

February  - May 2001
Erling Rasmussen and Ian McIntosh

A round-up of recent New Zealand industrial relations events.

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Volume 23, Number 2 - June 1998
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