The Susan Wood ruling

Scoop (which is invaluable for finding documents like this) has a copy of the ERA ruling in the Susan Wood vs TVNZ case.

It is very clear from reading it that Wood is now a permanent employee on $450,000 a year. After 1 January 2006 it can be varied, but only by mutual consent.

Now the media should not be letting Helen Clark escape with a no comment on this issue. Because the Government is directly responsible for TVNZ breaking the law – in two ways.

Firstly the Government changed the law in 2000 with the Employment Relations Act. Prior to the law change the Court of Appeal had ruled that if an employer and employee agreed to a fixed term contract, it was legal. It did not need to be justified. Labour legislated to over-rule the Court of Appeal and specifically made it much harder to have fixed term contracts. One had to have genuine need for a fixed term contract – such as working a project which will end.

So Labour changed the law to stop an employer being able to say well the contract has expired, now you have to agree to new terms to stay on.

Then we had the issue of high salaries for TVNZ staff. Led by no less than Helen Clark the Government called the salaries obscene, board members were given a humiliating dressing down by Maharey and the board were left under no illusion that they must reduce salaries or be sacked.

Now we see the problem. The Government as legislator passed laws to make it illegal to unilaterally reduce salaries. Yes the Government as share-holder forced TVNZ to try and unilaterally reduce salaries.

The Government needs to be held to account for this and asked how they expected TVNZ to carry out its wishes, without breaking the law? Quite simply it is near impossible if someone is willing to assert their employment rights as Susan Wood did.