Why Fair Pay Agreements would be bad for labour
Our report, Work in Progress: Why Fair Pay Agreements would be bad for labour, was released on Tuesday, 9 July. Chairman, and co-author of the report Roger Partridge spoke on TVNZ Breakfast to discuss how our research has found that the case for the recommendations of the Fair Pay Agreement Working Group (FPAWG) in pursuit of the government's goal of a highly-skilled and innovative workforce and an economy that delivers well-paid, decent jobs and broad-based gains from economic growth and productivity, does not stack up.
If we want a more productive, higher-wage economy, introducing compulsory collective bargaining across industries and occupations is not the way to achieve it.
Many factors have been blamed for New Zealand’s poor productivity growth, including our small size and geographic isolation. There is little was can do about either of these factors. But that makes it critical we get our policy settings right in the areas we can control. Areas like education, housing and planning, infrastructure, foreign investment, social policy, regulation and the allocation of regulatory decision-making powers between local and central government.
If we solve New Zealand’s policy problems in these areas, the country can confidently look forward to a more productive, high-wage economy.
You can watch the full interview below:
