Freedom at Work

Employment relationships are vitally important. For people in paid employment and for their families, good working relationships form the basis not only for material well-being but also for the self-esteem that comes from being employed, and from being a partner in work. For society as a whole, good employment relationships mean good prospects for productivity, innovation and economic growth. However, "good" employment relationships do not exist outside of their social or legal context. They depend on labour market laws that protect the rights of workers and employers and provide an environment in which co-operation between the two can flourish. The author of this book argues that New Zealand's labour market laws have failed on two counts. Their reliance on centralization and coercion has turned workers and employers into adversaries. Workers are denied the most basic freedoms, while ill-directed regulations thwart the co-operation needed to expand employment and increase incomes. The first victims are those whom the laws sought to protect - the least advantaged of workers and the unemployed.

What is needed, Dr Brook argues, is a system of labour law that is centered on co-operation between workers and employers, which protects workers by protecting their freedom both in the workplace and in union relationships, and which empowers them to choose how they will be employed and how they will be represented in employment negotiations.