Fed: Court industrial disputes a boon for lawyers NZ Minister

AAP General News (Australia)
04-28-2000
Fed: Court industrial disputes a boon for lawyers NZ Minister

By Denis Peters, Industrial Correspondent

CANBERRA, April 28 AAP - Directing industrial disputes into the court system in New
Zealand had led to an explosion in the number of labour lawyers, the country's visiting
Minister for Labour said today.

The settling of problems cost more and resulted in the polarising of people's positions
early in the process, Margaret Wilson said.

Her minority NZ Labour government is about to redirect the Kiwi industrial system by
directing disputes away from the courts and into mediation and independent adjudication.

This contrasts with the direction of Australian industrial disputes which are increasingly
appearing before the courts, notably in recent years with the waterfront and BHP contracts
disputes.

NZ Labour's Employment Relations Bill will replace the former Employment Contracts
Act (ECA) and its emphasis in individual contracts.

"My main complaint about the ECA, at the end of the day, was it legalised everything
and increased the cost," Ms Wilson said.

"I can remember in the late `80s, before the ECA, you'd have been lucky to get half-a-dozen
labour lawyers in a room who could make a living out of nothing else.

"I went to a conference last year and there were 300 plus.

"All the major law firms now have labour law divisions."

She said that in 25 years of teaching labour law as an academic it had been mainly
a fringe subject, but was now a fully-fledged commercial law subject.

"We are saying that the court polarises people at a very early phase in any problem that arises.

"It's not necessarily our job (as lawyers) to get people together. It's almost to take
them apart to pursue their rights.

"That's a role and function that's legitimate. All we're saying is, not at the beginning.

Let's actually give mediation and adjudication a chance in a cost-efficient way.

"If that doesn't work, then let's go to the court," she said.

Ms Wilson was in Sydney for a meeting of Australian and New Zealand industrial relations
ministers.

AAP dep/mfh/adh/bwl

KEYWORD: INDUSTRIAL NZ

2000 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.