Union membership
No; the prohibited grounds of discrimination in the Human Rights Act do not cover being a member of a trade union. From time-to-time there have been proposals to include trade union activity as a prohibited ground of discrimination but they have not made it into the Human Rights Act.
There is case law in New Zealand which suggests that if there is a clear connection between the government and its policies and the activity being undertaken by the union or its members, that amounts to expression of a political opinion. Political opinion discrimination is protected by the Act.
The Employment Relations Act provides than an employer may not:
- decline to employ someone because that person is a union member
- offer inferior terms and conditions of employment to employees because they are union members.
The Employment Relations Act also provides that an employer may not:
- decline to employ someone because that person is not a union member
- offer inferior terms and conditions of employment to employees because they are not union members.
Under the Employment Relations Act employees have an absolute right:
- to choose to join a union or to choose to not join a union
- to join a particular union in preference to joining some other union
- to resign from a union.
It is illegal for anyone to use undue influence to try to make another person join or not join a union or to resign from a union. Undue influence may include an employer threatening to make life difficult for, or dismiss, someone unless the employee resigns from a union.
Employees who have been engaged in union activities have some special protections under the Employment Relations Act. Such activities include an employee being a union officer or delegate or collective bargaining representative, or an employee claiming employment rights for that employee or for other employees, or participation in a lawful strike.