A week in advocacy 

China’s growth good for NZ
The global economy will shrink by 5% this year but China’s economy will grow by nearly 2% - that's good for NZ because most of our primary exports go there.  ANZ reports that NZ exports to China continue to attract strong demand and reasonably firm prices, especially dairy, beef, apples, and kiwifruit.  China’s economic growth turned from negative to positive during May after a 3-month contraction, with services and manufacturing sectors turning positive in the 2nd quarter of 2020.

Jump in manufacturing and services
Here in NZ the services and manufacturing sectors have also turned the corner.  Last month manufacturing started expanding for the first time since February, with a PMI of 56.3, while the services sector jumped from deeply negative to positive territory, with a  PSI of 54.1, with both indexes led by new orders.  However BusinessNZ warns June’s good result does not necessarily represent a trend, given offshore uncertainty around Covid-19.

Growing our way out of Covid 
NZ should increase productivity to grow its way out of the Covid crisis, the Productivity Commission says.  Its Frontier Firms report says productivity growth is best led by large, internationally-focused firms supported by industry clusters, but NZ has few of these.  It says public funding should be directed towards key clusters, especially in tech and agricultural innovation, rather than being sprayed across firms or regions in a ‘picking winners’ approach. 

Covid fallout at the ERA
Covid-19 employment disputes continue at the Employment Relations Authority.  This month the ERA found Auckland’s Dove Hospice was wrong to unilaterally reduce employees’ pay during lockdown, despite confusion about Govt directives to use only “best endeavours” to pay more.  Other firms may also have unilaterally reduced pay during lockdown, but the Dove decision won't apply to them as the ERA is a tribunal, not a court, however court cases involving other firms’ Covid pay reductions are expected.

Are Uber drivers employees?
The long-running saga of independent contractors seeking to be reclassified as employees continued in the NZ Employment Court this week, with an Auckland Uber driver seeking classification as an employee in order to take a personal grievance case against Uber.  Past cases have seen independent contractors seeking to be reclassified as employees to access the benefits of an employment relationship including paid holidays and ability to take personal grievances.  A judgment in the Auckland Uber case is expected within months.

Bargaining for pay equity
Collective bargaining is better for resolving pay equity claims than court-imposed solutions, says BusinessNZ.  Last night Parliament agreed to debate the Equal Pay Amendment Bill under urgency before the election.  The Bill will allow collective bargaining for the same pay rates across female-dominated occupations as in male-dominated occupations.  BusinessNZ was part of the working group that agreed the principles for equity bargaining on which the Bill is based.

PM with BusinessNZ network
BusinessNZ network election engagement continues with a Business Breakfast with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in Wellington next week.  The PM will give an update on the Government’s work towards post-lockdown COVID economic recovery.  You can register for the Business Breakfast with the PM  here.

Becoming IT supplier to government
BusinessNZ’s next procurement seminar – gaining contracts to supply IT and digital services to Govt departments – is coming up next week.  The seminar features IT procurement managers and specialists from the Ministry of Justice, MFAT, MPI and ArcBlue consulting.  You can register for the seminar, to be held in Wellington and online, here.