Minister of Labour (New Zealand)

The Minister of Labour is a former ministerial position in the New Zealand Government, responsible for labour market regulation and workplace health and safety. It was established in 1892 and was replaced with the new position of Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety in 2014.

Responsibilities

A briefing to the incoming Minister of Labour in 2008 describes the portfolio's primary concern as "the effective operation of New Zealand workplaces." The minister held responsibility for employment relations law (including bargaining, mediation and dispute resolution), setting and enforcing minimum standards for health and safety and employment conditions, and managing the government's relationships with sector bodies such as the Council of Trade Unions and Business New Zealand. ^[1]

The minister was the responsible minister for the Department of Labour, which was established one year before the first appointment was made. On 1 July 2012, the department was merged into the new Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

History

The Minister of Labour was responsible for employment law including industrial dispute resolution. The position and the accompanying government department were created in 1982 soon after a large strike of New Zealand maritime workers and miners in support of an Australian maritime dispute. The first minister, William Pember Reeves, developed the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1894 which was intended to enable unions to negotiate with employers on a more-equal basis. The act also established the first national arbitration court, which gradually established an award system setting standards for minimum pay and conditions for different industries. ^[2]

In 1973, the law was modernised but retained a level of central control. ^[3] Ministers of labour would personally get involved in dispute resolution with unions. ^[4] This ended in 1987 when compulsory arbitration was abolished. ^[5] Successive labour ministers under the Fourth National Government and Fifth Labour Government progressed significant employment law reforms, resulting first in the Employment Contracts Act 1991 and later the Employment Relations Act 2000. National's Bill Birch was responsible for labour market deregulation, reducing the statutory role of unions which Labour's Margaret Wilson reinstated. ^{[6] [7]}

After the 2014 general election, the portfolio was disestablished and replaced by the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety.

Office-holders

The following MPs have held the office of Minister of Labour: ^[8]

Key

   Liberal    Reform    United    Labour    National

No.		Name	Portrait	Term of Office		Prime Minister
	1	William Pember Reeves		31 May 1892	10 January 1896		Ballance
							Seddon
	2	Richard Seddon		10 January 1896	10 June 1906
	3	William Hall-Jones		21 June 1906	6 August 1906		Hall-Jones
	4	John A. Millar		6 August 1906	6 January 1909		Ward
	5	Alexander Hogg		6 January 1909	17 June 1909
	(4)	John A. Millar		17 June 1909	28 March 1912
	6	George Laurenson		28 March 1912	10 July 1912		Mackenzie
	7	William Massey		10 July 1912	14 May 1920		Massey
	8	William Herries		17 May 1920	7 February 1921
	9	George Anderson		1 March 1921	26 November 1928
							Bell
							Coates
	10	Robert Wright		28 November 1928	10 December 1928
	11	Bill Veitch		10 December 1928	28 May 1930		Ward
	12	Sydney Smith		28 May 1930	22 September 1931		Forbes
	13	Adam Hamilton		22 September 1931	6 December 1935
	14	Tim Armstrong		6 December 1935	13 December 1938		Savage
	15	Paddy Webb		13 December 1938	27 June 1946
							Fraser
	16	James O'Brien		27 June 1946	19 December 1946
	17	Angus McLagan		19 December 1946	12 December 1949
	18	Bill Sullivan		13 December 1949	13 February 1957		Holland
	19	John McAlpine		13 February 1957	12 December 1957
							Holyoake
	20	Fred Hackett		12 December 1957	12 December 1960		Nash
	21	Tom Shand		12 December 1960	11 December 1969		Holyoake
	22	Jack Marshall		12 December 1969	7 February 1972
	23	David Thomson		7 February 1972	8 December 1972		Marshall
	24	Hugh Watt		8 December 1972	10 September 1974		Kirk
	25	Arthur Faulkner		10 September 1974	12 December 1975		Rowling
	26	Peter Gordon		12 December 1975	13 December 1978		Muldoon
	27	Jim Bolger		13 December 1978	26 July 1984
	28	Stan Rodger		26 July 1984	8 August 1989		Lange
	29	Helen Clark		8 August 1989	2 November 1990		Palmer
							Moore
	30	Bill Birch		2 November 1990	27 March 1993		Bolger
	31	Maurice McTigue		27 March 1993	21 December 1993
	32	Doug Kidd		21 December 1993	16 December 1996
	33	Max Bradford		16 December 1996	10 December 1999
							Shipley
	34	Margaret Wilson		10 December 1999	26 February 2004		Clark
	35	Paul Swain		26 February 2004	19 October 2005
	36	Ruth Dyson		19 October 2005	5 November 2007
	37	Trevor Mallard		5 November 2007	19 November 2008
	38	Kate Wilkinson		19 November 2008	6 November 2012		Key
		Chris Finlayson Acting Minister		6 November 2012	31 January 2013
	39	Simon Bridges		31 January 2013	6 October 2014

Notes

1. Department of Labour (2008). "Briefing for Incoming Ministers".
2. Derby, Mark (12 November 1912). "Strikes and labour disputes". Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand (in Māori). Retrieved 8 April 2025.
3. Evans, Lewis. "Law and the economy". Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
4. Tattersfield 2020, p. 184.
5. Olssen, Erik (21 October 1912). "Unions and employee organisations". Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
6. Anderson, Gordon (1991). "The Employment Contracts Act 1991: an employers' charter?" (PDF). New Zealand Journal of Industrial Relations. 16: 127–142 – via NZLII.
7. The Employment Contracts Act and its economic impact - New Zealand Parliament , retrieved 8 April 2025
8. Wilson 1985, pp. 71–97.

References

• Tattersfield, Brad (20 May 2020). Bill Birch: Minister of Everything. Mary Egan. ISBN   978-0-473-50197-6.

• Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC   154283103.