Kate Wilkinson

Wellington, June 25 NZPA - The Government is not looking at setting minimum redundancy for workers laid off during the recession.

Labour Minister Kate Wilkinson was asked about the issue during Parliament's transport and industrial relations select committee hearing today.

Labour MP Darien Fenton drafted a member's bill -- Employment Relations (Statutory Minimum Redundancy Entitlements) Amendment -- based on the recommendations of a report by the Public Advisory Group on Restructuring and Redundancy.

Ms Fenton asked if Ms Wilkinson was doing anything with that report.

The minister said she had read it.

"Our focus has been on trying to get through the recession and to have people keep their jobs," she said.

"At this stage it is not my priority to try and impose minimum statutory redundancy on businesses that are struggling enough to survive and to keep their staff."

There have been no specific extra resources allocated for any work on statutory minimum redundancy and if changes were made it would have be within current funding, she said.

In a subsequent statement Ms Fenton said the minister was ignoring concerns in the report about thousands of workers being made redundant without notice and pay.

"To makes things worse, the minister couldn't remember if she had met with the Director General of the International Labour Organisation in her recent trip to Geneva for the ILO Conference."

During the hearing Ms Wilkinson did seek officials' advice before saying that meeting had not occurred.

Ms Wilkinson also told the committee under questioning that cutting the pay and employment equity unit "was a priority decision made by me".

That created savings of $1 million a year. The unit had been a catalyst for change and it was now up to the private sector to pick it up, she said.