No Right Turn on Tan
Idiot/Savant takes a principled stand on the suspension of Shawn Tan by the EPMU, due to his candidacy for ACT:
That’s just not on. It’s unfair, it compromises the right of everyone to participate directly in our democracy, and if the political shoe had been on the other foot – if Tan had worked for Business NZ and was standing for Labour – they would be shouting this to the heavens.
Indeed you could just imagine the outcry. It would probably be led by, umm, unions such as the EPMU.
But quite apart from being unfair and hypocritical, it is also illegal. “Political opinion” is a prohibited ground of discrimination in the Human Rights Act. Employers are forbidden from refusing to employ someone, offer them less favourable terms and conditions and opportunities, or terminate or subject them to any detriment, on the basis of their political beliefs. While there is rightly an exemption for work of a political nature, it only covers political advisors to politicians or candidates, or employees of a political party. And as the Electoral Commission noted a few weeks ago, the EPMU isn’t the Labour Party.
And that case goes to court on Monday incidentally.
S21(1)(j) is the section in the Human Rights Act that prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of political opinion.
The Electoral Act also goes to some length to protect the rights of people to stand for Parliament. s52 deals with how ever state servants are allowed as of right to stand for Parliament, with some provisions about how they are only temporarily stood down.
I/S concludes:
The EPMU should give Tan his job back. And otherwise, they deserve to be taken to the cleaners over this.
It would be a fascinating court case. Presumably the EPMU would not represent Mr Tan against the EPMU. I suggest he joins UNITE!
There are many many issues I disgaree with NRT on, and some of his posts enrage me, as I am sure mine sometimes enrage him. But posts like the above is why he remains the most respected voice on the left in the blogosphere.