Work-life balance. In this essay, I will be writing on behalf of the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU). I will outline a policy that the NZCTU believes will help in this area, namely legislation making it easier for workers to achieve more flexi

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One of the major issues that unions have been concerned with in recent years is work-life balance. Many workers face problems balancing their work with the other demands in their lives, such as parenting, caregiving, fulfilling responsibilities in the community, and having adequate time for leisure. In this essay, I will be writing on behalf of the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU). I will outline a policy that the NZCTU believes will help in this area, namely legislation making it easier for workers to achieve more flexible hours; discuss the various methods that the NZCTU can use to ensure this policy is adopted; and finally, assess the NZCTU's chances of success, given the balance of power between trade unions and other interest groups.

What is the policy?

The NZCTU believes that there are a number of changes that can be made to employment legislation that would make it easier for employees to achieve greater work-life balance. One such law currently going through Parliament is Sue Kedgley's Employment Relations (Flexible Working Hours) Bill. The bill aims to implement a number of processes that workers and employers can go through while negotiating flexible working hours. Firstly, the bill gives workers a clear right to request more flexible hours. Secondly, it gives employers the right to turn down such requests, but only for certain reasons, such as an inability to reorganise working hours with existing staff (Beaumont 2007).

The NZCTU supports the current bill, although there are a number of areas in which we would like to see it go further. Firstly, the scope of the bill is currently restricted to workers who are caring for a child under five years of age, a disabled child, or an elderly parent. Although the NZCTU believes that this is an important first step, we would eventually like to see all workers given the right to negotiate flexible working hours, since workers have a wide range of commitments beyond caregiving (Beaumont 2007).

There are a number of reasons why the NZCTU believes that this legislation is necessary. Firstly, in today's society a strict nine to five work schedule is inconvenient for many people, and causes clashes between work and personal or family commitments. A survey by the Department of Labour, for instance, showed that 46% of workers currently experience work-life conflict. Many workers feel that they have little control over their hours, and little ability to negotiate different hours with their employer (Beaumont 2007).
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Secondly, in recent years there has been a clear trend towards people working longer hours. Many workers put in extensive overtime, and one in five workers in New Zealand currently works more than fifty hours a week (NZCTU 2004: 12).

Thirdly, the current situation in employment disadvantages women. Women currently perform far more unpaid and domestic work, such as caregiving, cleaning and cooking. Currently, it is difficult for women to balance paid work with these other commitments, which prevents women from contributing fully to the workforce and helps add to the pay gap between men and ...

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