The New Zealand Labour Law Society 2009- 2024

 The New Zealand Labour Law Society was established by New Zealand attendees at the International Society for Labour and Social Security Law XIX World Congress in Sydney in 2009. The goal of the Society was to provide a forum for research, ideas and discussion about labour and employment law (broadly defined). The Society was active until the end of 2024. At that time a decision was made, that while the activities and relationships, developed under the auspices of the Society would continue, the Society itself would be dissolved.

Conceptualising and Enforcing Privacy Workshop- 6 December 2024

The Conceptualising and Enforcing Privacy for Workers workshop ran on Friday 6 December in Rutherford House at Victoria University of Wellington.

The purpose of this workshop was to map the way that workers' privacy is increasingly under threat in the light of new technology and to consider how law might respond to this

The Society looks forward to the production of an edited collection of papers based on the workshop which it is intended will be launched at the next LSAANZ conference 3-5 December 2025.

 

Support for "road tour" by Professor Tonia Novitz

The New Zealand Labour Law Society was delighted to be able to support a "road tour" by Professor Tonia Novitz of Bristol University in February 2024. Professor Novitz is a Professor of Labour Law at the University of Bristol Law School in the UK. A graduate of the University of Canterbury (Christchurch, New Zealand) and Balliol College, Oxford, she has held fellowships at the International Institute for Labour Studies (Geneva), the European University Institute (Florence), the University of Melbourne and the University of Auckland. From 2019 - 2023, she was chair of the steering committee of the international Labour Law Research Network (LLRN). She is currently a UK representative on the advisory board of International Lawyers Assisting Workers (ILAW), and a Vice President of the UK Institute of Employment Rights. She was a founding co-director of the Bristol Centre for Law at Work. Her research interests encompass collective labour rights, international and EU trade, sustainability and migration. Her publications have been cited in the Supreme Court of Canada and the UK Supreme Court. Recently, she has written on the relationship between sustainable development and labour standards in the gig economy, as well as the ways in which sustainable development chapters in EU free trade agreements may be enforced. As part of the "road tour" Professor Novitz visited Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch meeting with colleagues and students and presenting seminars at Auckland University, Victoria University of Wellington and Canterbury University.

Closing remarks and thanks to the organisers of the 2023 NZLLS conference

Thank you to the organisers for allowing me (Amanda Reilly) some time to speak as co- chairperson of the Society on behalf of myself and Professor Annick Masselot who is also co-chairperson.

I will be brief! I am just going to say a few words about the Society and I also want to thank and acknowledge a number of people:

The Society was founded in 2009 by attendees at the International Society of Labour and Social Security Law which was in Sydney. I was at that meeting, as was Professor Margaret Wilson and Professor Gordon Anderson both well known to you all for their significant contributions to the general field of labour law as well as to the Society- in particular, Gordon who served as President for a number of years as well as organising several conferences. 

Another person at that founding meeting who I want to particularly shine a spotlight on was Pam Nuttall, then a senior lecturer based at AUT. I'd like to give a special shout out, thanks and acknowledgment to Pam, not just as a kind and wise mentor to me personally as well as to countless of her students and others, but also for her significant contributions to the Society as Secretary. She was the one that did much of the necessary but frequently invisible work that got the Society off the ground and kept it going for many years. I think it is fair to say there would not have been a Society if it had not been for Pam.

The New Zealand Labour Law Society Conference occupies a unique place in New Zealand's landscape. It is not a purely academic conference and it is not a purely practitioner conference- instead it exists as a platform to disseminate research and to provide a space for dialogue in the broad field of labour law. In my view, it is important that we keep having this dialogue as it is through dialogue that we learn and grow as individuals and as a community.  And here I would like to thank and acknowledge everyone who came along and participated and presented at this conference most particularly the students. You are the next generation and we will be looking to you to keep the dialogue going.

I also (sporting rivalries notwithstanding) want to thank our Australian counterparts from the Australian Labour Law Association (ALLA) - there are very few academics who focus on labour law in New Zealand and the support of our Australian colleagues for our projects and in coming to the conferences is valued and appreciated. And I should mention that Anthony (Forsyth, President of ALLA) has asked me to encourage everyone to come along to the next ALLA conference this time next year which will be in Geelong.

I also want to acknowledge and thank everyone who has served on the Society committee (past and present) and especially would like to mention and thank for their contributions those who are here today. i.e Yvonne Oldfield, John Goddard and Graeme Colgan.

Lastly I want to thank our organisers Simon Schofield, Alan Toy and Nadia Dabee. It is no secret that New Zealand Universities are going through challenging times at the moment and it is fair to say there would not have been a conference if it hadn't been for these three - they have brought new blood and energy and they've put their own mark on the efforts of the Society, while staying true to its purpose, that of providing a platform for dialogue in our field- and they have done so magnificently- please join me in thanking them...!

Donation to the New Zealand Legal Information Institute

 The New Zealand Labour Law Society were very happy to make a donation to the New Zealand Legal Information Institute to support the digitalisation of historical material relating to the Awards system. This project will preserve an important part of New Zealand's Industrial Relations history and provide a valuable free primary resource for researchers in the future.

The recording of 2 October New Zealand Labour Law Society on-line seminar is now available

On Friday 2 October 2020 the Society offered a Zoom seminar around the theme of  “Employment Law in an uncertain environment: Utopia or Dystopia?”

This was recorded and can be viewed here

 

Convener: Graeme Colgan, Barrister and former Chief Judge of the Employment Court of New Zealand

Speakers and Topics:

Professor Gordon Anderson, Law Faculty, Victoria University of Wellington "Structural Integrity- Employment Law and the Pandemic" 

John Goddard, Barrister, Lambton Chambers "Access to justice" 

Dr Andrew Dallas, Chief, Employment Relations Authority "The Authority and CoVID-19" 

Nicola Green, Massey University’s School of Management "Working from home in times of disruption and in the future: implications for workers and organisations" 

Dr Amanda Reilly and Kathleen Makale, School of Accounting and Commercial Law Victoria University of Wellington "Who pays? Employees, tax and the costs of working from home." 

 Professor Annick Masselot, School of Law, University of Canterbury "Who works and who gets paid?"

Anna Sturman and Dr Matt Scobie, University of Canterbury University Business School "Economies of Mana and horizons of change" 

Dr Dawn Duncan, Faculty of Law, University of Otago "Worker health" 

 Dr Sanna Malinen, University of Canterbury University Business School and Prof Katharina Naswall, Department of Psychology, University of Canterbury "Covid and Wellbeing" 

Peter Upson, Public Trust "Artificial Intelligence and Workplace Surveillance"

 

Special Issue of the New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations- Editorial Note

The New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations recently published a special issue showcasing a selection of the papers presented at the 2019 Fifth Biennial Conference. This is the editorial note which prefaced the issue:

This Special Issue of the New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations is comprised of selected papers presented at the fifth Biennial Conference of the New Zealand Labour Law Society held on 15-16 November 2019 with the support of the Faculty of Law and the School of Accounting and Commercial Law at Victoria University of Wellington.

 The purpose of the New Zealand Labour Law Society is to create a space for dialogue and dissemination of ideas as well as research relating to labour law broadly defined.  As in previous years, a dynamic mix of international and local academics, judges, practitioners, trade union representatives, policy makers and students attended the conference. Participants enjoyed a stimulating range of contributions centred on the conference theme: “Labour Law in 2019 - continuity, change and emerging challenges”.

 The New Zealand Labour Law Society has always aimed to be inclusive and to give a platform to emerging as well as more established voices. This emphasis is reflected in the articles this Special Issue showcases, which includes contributions from eminent established academics as well as talented new voices. These contributions also reflect some of the themes that emerged most strongly in the conference.

 There are six articles in this Special Issue and a summary of their content is provided hereunder.

 Tonia Novitz’s article discusses the causes of a global trend towards a decline in worker power and argues strongly that the movement toward “collective begging” rather than collective bargaining must be resisted. She provides a set of prescriptions broadly accepted by labour lawyers across the globe intended to shore up this resistance.

 Renee Burns focusses on the implementation of freedom of association in Australia. She discusses the Australian Federal Government’s attempt to amend the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009 and argues that the effect of this amendment would be to restrict the human rights of the Australian workers entrenching deteriorating conditions of work.

 The need for law enforcement and for laws designed to ensure that workers can access legal protections also emerged as a key concern at the conference.  In this context, Joanna Howe’s contribution explores this issue with respect to temporary migrant workers in the horticulture industry. Additionally, Kerry O’Brien discusses accessorial liability which is a tool for extending employer liability down the supply chain. He compares New Zealand’s law to Australia’s law and suggests that New Zealand law may require reform.  

 Martin Graham’s article raises the increasing tension between environmental requirements and labour law standards. The article focusses on the need for “just transitions” for workers displaced by climate change within New Zealand.

Finally, Quyn Vu’s article addresses the problems of proving indirect discrimination in Australian federal law and provides some recommendations for improvement.

As well as being a place for dialogue and intellectual exchange, the biennial conferences are a focal point for community; a chance to make new connections and an opportunity to catch up with old friends. This human aspect was reflected in John Goddard’s moving tribute to his father, Tom Goddard, who served as the Chief Judge of the New Zealand Employment Court (1991-2005) and who passed away 14 March 2019. In his tribute, John reflected on Chief Judge Goddard’s approach to law with its emphasis on fairness and ensuring that the powerful are accountable.

We could not have known when we gathered for the conference that just a few short months later, all of New Zealand would be in lock down with the borders effectively closed due to the COVID 19 pandemic. Although in many ways the world we now inhabit is a different place to the world we lived in then, the overarching conference concerns are still resonant. Community, solidarity and empowerment seem more vital now than ever, as does the need for law responsive to the imperatives that all workers should be treated fairly and that the powerful should be held accountable

Amanda Reilly

Annick Masselot

(Editors)

Conference Highlights

Labour Law in 2019 – continuity, change and emerging challenges

15 and 16 November 2019 at Rutherford House, 33 Bunny Street, Pipitea, Wellington

Highlights

Keynote Speakers

Professor Tonia Novitz University of Bristol on “The perils of collective begging: comparative problems in collective labour law.”

Dr Joanna Howe University of Adelaide on the legal regulation of temporary labour migration.

Conference Sessions

The impact of violence and harassment on the workplace: Steph Dyhrberg, Yvonne Oldfield and Lisa Heap and Katee Yukich will look at a range of issues including sexual harassment, the 2019 ILO Violence and Harassment Convention and issues relating to domestic violence leave.

Individual employment: This session includes papers on private security laws and workplace investigations; a comparative perspective on employee rights in insolvencies; and non-work conduct and employment.

Workplace Health and Safety: Papers will cover topics such as: Should mediation have a role in WHS, WHS prosecutions and the WHS implications of bullying and harassment.

Trade Unions: This session will look at the concept of union membership being a default option; freedom of association in Australia; and trade union regulation.

Technology and Work: In this session topics will include workers in the age of Uber; workers’ rights to human dignity in an age of AI; legal issues relating to technological innovation.\

Dispute resolution: Access to justice and effective dispute resolution are areas of increasing concern. Papers will cover topics including Do low-paid workers get short-changed? Enforcement of employment standards; Effectiveness of state-supplied mediation; Protective functions of labour tribunals; and Accessorial liability.

International concerns: Modern slavery and international exploitation of workers remain key concerns. A number of papers will look at aspects of this problem.