January has commenced with gusto – lots of HR activity underway to start 2025 in a strong position, but light on the ground for newsworthy industrial relations activity. I have quite a diverse reading/listening list of books, podcasts and articles all on topics related to what I call “The 5 IR buckets”, so I have included a couple of podcast episodes that I’ve recently listened to too.
Here are the noteworthy events from January, summarised with links included for your light reading.
1. Athlete union’s legal bid
From a precedent-setting perspective, this is a really interesting case which follows along a similar line to the theme of the Uber case – “who is the employer?”. The Employment Court has turned over the decision from the Employment Relations Authority which required High Performance Sport NZ to engage in collective bargaining. The union for the elite athletes has sought to appeal this decision.
2. Medical laboratory workers
Members of the specialist union for allied, scientific and technical employees – Apex – have taken strike action in support of their MECA with Awanui Labs, Pathlab Limited and Medlab Central/Tlab. The union is seeking pay parity with lab workers employed by Te Whatu Ora, stating that these people earn up to 30% less than their counterparts.
3. NZCTU Mood of the Workforce
The CTU has released their annual Mood of the Workforce report, which asks for their thoughts on issues impacting work and life. The full article and report is available online, but their highlighted statement is that “the overarching sentiment across themes underscores a demand for systemic reforms to address inequality, protect workers, and strengthen public services for a more equitable society.”
4. Podcasts
I listen to a lot of podcasts, and in the past few weeks I have listened to two particularly interesting podcasts that highlight key trends and information as we move into 2025 –
- HBR Idea Cast – Employment is Changing Forever, which talks about the rise of ‘portfolio careers’.
- When the Facts Change – Is 2025 the year to thrive?, which suggests that 2025 might actually be a year of two halves from an economic perspective.