New Zealand: bill to make labour relations more flexible presented to parliament

On 17 June, New Zealand employment minister Brooke van Velden, of the right-wing ACT party, presented a bill to parliament with changes to labour relations. The aim of the bill is to “enhance labour market flexibility” in order to “provide businesses with the confidence and support to grow, hire [and] innovate”. To this end, the bill provides for the possibility of including 90-day trial periods in employment contracts, instead of the current three to six months. It also gives employers the opt