Preliminary observations: The brief I accepted in preparing this report was to comment on employment law developments in New Zealand since the Employment Contracts Act 1991 (‘the ECA’) commenced operation on 15 May 1991.

The ECA has major political, social, and economic, as well as legal, significance. It follows that although the main emphasis of this commentary will be on the legal developments, they cannot be usefully treated as if they occurred in a vacuum. Indeed, it would be difficult to do so, for the legal developments have become a political, social, and economic event in themselves.