Open AccessThe new jurisdiction: the impact of the Labour Relations Act
Author(s) -
John Hughes
Publication year - 1970
Publication title -
new zealand journal of industrial relations
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 0110-0637
DOI - 10.26686/nzjir.v13i3.3645
Subject(s) - grievance , dismissal , jurisdiction , law , industrial relations , labor relations , state (computer science) , political science , virtue , labour law , law and economics , sociology , algorithm , computer science
The new jurisdiction conferred on the Labour Court by Part IX of the Labour Relations Act 1987 has a number of facets. First, there has been a widening of the categories of worker who may use the procedure, not only under the 1987 Act but also by virtue of the State Sector Act 1988. Secondly, there have been substantial changes to the way in which the personal grievance procedure operates. Thirdly, the grounds upon which a personal grievance claim may now be brought have been expanded. Fourthly, the available remedies, whilst not substantially changed, have been "tidied up". The treatment of these changes in this paper will be selective. The procedural changes have been excellently covered in Mike Dawson's indispensable guide Handling Personal Grievances Under the Labour Relations Act 1987 (Canterbury Trade Unions Research and Training Group/UEA, 1988). I would like to take the opportunity to highlight what seem to me to be some of the more far-reaching changes and, in the course of the paper, touch only lightly on the distinctly "procedural" aspects of the changes since the Labour Relations Act 1987 carne into force. Surprisingly few decisions so far have turned on the new provisions. Most retread the familiar ground of unjustifiable dismissal.