More than 14,000 people have signed a petition to Parliament opposing the Government's move to repeal Fair Pay Agreements.
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden announced the changes on Monday after both National and ACT had opposed the law, calling it "compulsory unionism".
The legislation would have allowed for binding agreements on minimum employment terms for all employees at an industry-wide level.
Unions have protested the Government's plan to repeal the agreements.
"Fair Pay Agreements would make a significant difference to the lives of hundreds of thousands of working people," Melissa Ansell-Bridges from the Council of Trade Unions told Breakfast this morning.
"They're workers who experience often quite low pay, poor conditions, poor health and safety, and Fair Pay Agreements are a way of creating a floor above which employers would have to operate to improve terms and conditions, improve pay."
She said the union is "really disappointed" in the Government's call, pointing to a leaked Cabinet paper that suggested the move to scrap the agreements would "disproportionately hurt groups like disabled people, women, Māori, Pacific people, and young people".
"The most vulnerable workers in New Zealand are going to miss out," Ansell-Bridges said.
Retail NZ chief executive Carolyn Young disagreed. She said employment law is already "super complicated" and "the legislation's written already so that it protects employees".
"We feel that the Fair Pay Agreements were based around [the] lowest common denominator, and so you're trying to legislate for people that are potentially going to do something wrong whereas the majority of employers... are going to do the right thing.
"We need to rely on MBIE [the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment] to work with those employers that aren't doing the right thing, whether there's Fair Pay Agreements or no Fair Pay Agreements," Young said.
"Ultimately, streamlined legislation that makes it much easier for businesses and employees to work together we feel is in the best interests of the economy."
Young said a set of minimum standards was already in place – as Ansell-Bridges shook her head.
"If the businesses aren't successful and they can't be profitable, they're gonna close and they won't be able to employ people and pay them at the rates that they're currently paying," Young said.
"Employers in the retail sector are continuing to raise salary rates and wage rates every year.
"They're doing the best they can in the current economic conditions."
Ansell-Bridges disputed Young's claim. She said there have been problems with wages "stagnating" and failing to keep up with profits.
"It's great that employers in the retail sector want to have those good working relationships with their employees, but that's what Fair Pay Agreements were going to do... It was a win-win situation."
The petition is due to be delivered to the Beehive this morning.
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