As Grant Robertson has previously noted on this blog, next year will see most NZers being entitled to just 9 Statutory Holidays off on pay, instead of the usual 11 days. Anzac Day will fall on the same day as Easter Monday. Waitangi Day is on a Sunday, and under the law is not Mondayised. So, no extra day off for Waitangi Day, (unless you work on Sunday) and no extra day off for Anzac Day either.
But the Aussies aren’t putting up with this. They will have a five day Easter Break, with all states voting to give workers an extra day off on pay on Easter Tuesday to compensate for Anzac Day.
But as the SST reports don’t hold your breath about any similar changes from our government.
Labour Minister Kate Wilkinson says “Waitangi Day won’t be Mondayised, and legislating for an extra day off at Easter is extremely unlikely”.
No surprises there I guess. Our government is too busy legislating to trade away the rights of Kiwi workers to holidays and wouldn’t dream of giving workers something they’re not strictly and legally entitled to.
And backbench National MPs continue to push for Easter Friday and Sunday shop trading.
Sometimes, it’s the simple things that matter when it comes to catching up with Australia.
I think this is one of them.
So is Labour now going to commit to changing this when they get back into power and “Monday-ising” holidays that people would miss when they fall on a weekend? That would be great!
But if Labour wouldn’t change anything, what’s the point of this post?
Did not Labour around 2004 revise the Holidays Act. And I am sure back then this issue was known, So given that why was nothing done when Labour had the change to display some forward planning???
How easy it is to point the finger today, when Labour had the ability to display what Darian you comment is lacking today. Its all politics and stuff the voter.
Well why didn’t labour do something about it during their nine long and painful years in government.?
The 11 stat public holidays a year, only applies for workers who usually work Monday to Friday. In my job, many people’s work week is either Sunday to Thursday or Tuesday to Saturday. The latter miss out on all the Monday public holidays.
Also, as my job is not in retail, Easter Sunday has been a regular work day for people who work permanently on Sundays. I gather this could be changed in future, but if the workplace closes down, and Easter Sunday is not a public holiday, I believe the employer could ask the workers to take that day as annual leave.
In case you haven’t noticed, Labour can’t change this holiday set up next year from their place in Opposition today, NATIONAL CAN.
“Well why didn’t labour do something about it during their nine long and painful years in government.?” Because they were busy scrapping other bad things and making cool new laws, they would’ve gotten around to it
I was worried that you wouldn’t show up today, but here you are!
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Spud- Lab had the chance when the last reviewed (Lab were the govt ) the holiday laws, perhaps someone back then in charge did not look up the Canaders and see this issue !!!! but keep the cheer leading up ;-D
And it is nice to see that some in Lab do not value those who work weekends, by having the desire to Mondayise holidays.
One could argue then that they showed compassion for weekend workers in those nine years
Maybe they could invent a couple of stat days just for the weekend workers!
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Only National can fix this situation. In case you didn’t read the article, it won’t happen again until 2095.
And for all those who are saying “why didn’t Labour do something….” well here’s just some of what we did do :
- Introduced time and a half payments for workers who have to work on public holidays – previously it was no extra pay.
- Fixed the situation where Christmas Day falls on a weekend and used to be only recognised on a Monday.
- Brought in a fourth weeks annual leave – after 30 years of three weeks leave.
What’s National doing? Selling the right to a fourth week, enabling transfer of public holidays at the employers discretion and much, much more.
What will Labour do? Well, if things carry on as they are, I suspect our priority will be restoring rights.
And Herodotus : I’m not advocating taking away the rights of workers who work weekends – I’m suggesting these holidays are treated the same way Labour changed the recognition of Christmas Day.
Blame National for the calendar. That really takes the biscuit. Not a cheep from Labour for every time Anzac or Waitangi day fell on a weekend during the nine wasted years but outraged now the nasty but popular Nats are in office. Pathetic effort again.
“Only National can fix this situation. In case you didn’t read the article, it won’t happen again until 2095.”
Now sit down and have a quiet think about that.
Anzac day is on a Saturday in 2015.
I’d look forward to my Monday off under your new Labour policy (the interweb never forgets), however if this is Labour’s level of knowledge John Key will still be PM.
Darien, my issue is that legislation looks after those who work Mon-Fri more favourably (Especially those who work Mondays) than those who work weekends. Stat falls on the weekend those who work Mon recieve some benefit, yet if the reverese occurs e.g. Stat say Fri/Mon those who work weekends receive no additional benefit. As there is ever increasing Numbers who work weekends they could be said to be missing out or being discriminated against.
Yet no comment regarding why in 04/05 Lab did not see this event on the calander and do something about it when there was the chance to?
When Waitangi fell on the weekend this year the Aussie High Commission (or similar) here in Auckland Mondayised the holiday, while Kiwi’s worked…
Leading one wag in the paper to ask: Are Aussies more Kiwi than Kiwi’s..?
Lazy convicts…
That really sucks re Waitangi Day/ANZAC Day.
I feel slightly differently about the Trading Hours on Easter Sunday and Friday thing though – I wouldn’t mind being able to choose to work on those days if it meant I could get a little extra cash out of it. But that’s me looking at uni fees etc next year and how I’m going to pay them – if my circumstances were different then I’d probably have a slightly alternative view on it. I’d hate to think that people would be pressured out of spending more time with their families to work those extra shifts though
The word secular comes to mind when talking about Easter…
I have been working Easter Sunday for the last few years. I don’t get paid any more than when I work on any other Sunday. I think it maybe people who work on Easter Monday who get paid extra, or maybe people in retail who work on Easter Sunday.
I’m still angry about the Earl of Chesterfield taking away 11 days in 1750. Can we have them back, with interest, please? After all, time is money.
The collapse of ANZAC Day into Easter Monday seems wrong. OTOH, as I work on Saturdays and Sundays, I’m very happy that Waitangi Day is on a Saturday this year. Though this is a parttime job for me. But many of my workmates who work fulltime from Tuesdays to Saturdays, are even happier with the Saturday Waitangi Day, but not so much with the ANZAC/Easter Monday.
@GN – I was talking about Anzac Day and Easter Monday coinciding, not Anzac Day falling on a Saturday.
@Herotodus – No problem with what you are saying about stat holidays and those who don’t work Monday to Friday. At some point in the future, we should look again at this. The Holidays Act has just been reviewed by the National Government – hence the changes to the fourth weeks leave and other things coming your way – this is a much more current review and if you expect Labour to have anticipated this seven years in the future, why not the Nats? To be honest, back in 2004 we were probably preoccupied with getting the fourth weeks leave for everyone, for every year across the line.
Yay for four weeks!
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How nasty of the Nats to arrange for Jesus to die at Easter. And how even more nasty for the nats to allow the Catholic Church to decide when we celebrate Easter. And as for arranging for Anzac Day to happen on 25 April every year, that is just shocking. It shows the Nats don’t care about our fallen soldiers. In fact it also proves that the Nats probably slaughtered our soldiers at Chunuk Bair. Otherwise they would have mondayised Anzac Day.
Why didn’t Labour Mondayise all public holidays?
Carol – “The latter miss out on all the Monday public holidays.” My roster is M-F then T-S and every time I miss the day off I get payed as if I had worked so end up with 6 day pay. I understand this is from holidays act?
Jeremy, isn’t this only relevant to shift work: ie when the roster changes from week to week, and not people normally only working Tuesday to Saturday:
http://www.ers.dol.govt.nz/holidays_act_2003/public.html
Can someone tell me why I’m forced to take time off work for Christian religious festivals?
Good news for employers, too many public holidays can make it a tough month… or couple of months! The pendulum really has swung too far and I believe National are just trying to balance the ledger up a bit.
At least productivity will be up. By 2/365ths.
A few State holidays should be kept on weekends for those who do work weekends. Under the current system somebody who works say Wednesday to Sunday us disadvantaged in terms of holidays compared to a Monday to Friday worker.
Mr Fenton wants to disadvantage suck a worker more?
Spud says: “Yay for four weeks”
With no trading allowed, no 90 day sacking law, no 1 day sick = Dr’s note requirement, no banning unions from immediate entry into the workplace and no more erosion of workers rights.
All good reasons to give two ticks for Labour.
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Thanks Darien for the feedback. As to why Nats did not do anything re the changes. I imagine as like most things that do not affect us directly we give scant regard to. That is why many review when voting what is important to them as circumstances change e.g. Family/personnel circumstances, tertiary education/get married find a partner of more/have children/get cancer/approach 65/ approach death.
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Re Christnmas day being changed by Lab 04/05. This does not affect most, as many are on summer holidays and have cover for children. If ANZAC day, NZ/Waitangi days had 2 alts to be observed, there is the difficulty for those with under 14′s as to how we supervise them as they have Mon yet we may not.
I am still of the oponion of changing Waitangi day to Matariki, or better still observe both
Great way to run a country guys, if Labour didnt do it we dont have to. When will that strategy be tested? After one term, two, how many so those of us looking forward and hoping for change for the better can expect a Govt we can challenge and get decent debate in return.
In some countries they take religious holidays, and turn them into days to be taken at appropriate time. For exmple of you are wanting to celebrate Dewali, you dont get Christmas day or easter etc but you can take time at Dewali. I think that truly reflects the change over the last 100 years from Judeo Christian to diverse.
If you are an athiest you simply choose your days off. Id trade afew over easter for some between June and October…
In my two countries (I’m a dual citizen) if a holiday falls on a weekend than the following working day the employee must have a break plus be paid time 1/1/2 (time in a half) plus be paid holiday inventive pay, plus be paid 4% extra.
I wonder why your country doesn’t follow that system we have for ours?? Hmm.