New Zealand is a parliamentary democracy within the British Commonwealth. The executive authority is vested in a cabinet of 20 ministers, including a Prime Minister. The Labour-Alliance coalition government, led by the Prime Minister Hon. Helen Clark, is expected to see out its full three-year term in office, with an election at the end of 2002. The Government's major policy objectives include economic restructuring - broadened export base, increased taxation, reform of the Employment Act and the Commerce Act. Emphasis continues to be placed on the international labour standards including freedom of association and collective bargaining. The new Employment Relations Act came into force on 2 October 2000 with its aim to reform employment law by emphasizing employment relations built on good faith.

New Zealand is a small economy still heavily reliant on commodity production in agriculture, fishing and forestry. The mainstay of its market-based economy is the export of wool, meat, and dairy products. There has been a shift in recent years towards further processing of primary commodities to add value and to counter fluctuating world commodity prices. The manufacturing sector focused on production for the small domestic market has increasingly geared towards export markets.

Strong export growth and high levels of investment spending contributed to GDP growth estimated at 3.5 percent in 2000. GDP will slow to 2.7 percent in 2001 and 2.9 percent in 2002. Employment growth was particularly strong in the second half of 2000, pulling the unemployment rate down to 5.6 percent by the fourth quarter. This was the lowest level recorded in 12 years.

The Labour Minister remains Ms. Margaret Wilson. The President of the principle labour organization, the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU), affiliated with the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) is Mr. Ross Wilson. A second, smaller national labour federation is the New Zealand Trade Union Federation (NZTUF) which was established in 1993. For the New Zealand Employers' Federation (NAEF), its Chief Executive is Ms Knowles.

The Government is a Deputy Member of the ILO Governing Body for period 1999-2002.

Although there has been no technical cooperation project funded by the Government of New Zealand, the ILO continues to receive good collaboration from the Government. In December 2000, the Government accepted to be the host country for the organization of an ILO South Pacific Seminar on Social Dialogue (with focus on the ILO Declaration), which was held in Wellington. In addition, the Government responded positively to the ILO’s request and assigned an expert on Occupational Safety and Health to East Timor on a short mission. A brief mission report of the expert was submitted to the Regional Office, and later a draft legislation on OSH. The Government also considered providing further technical assistance in OSH upon the request submitted by the Regional Office. However, this has been put on hold pending the review of the ILO framework for East Timor to be carried out by EASMAT, who is now held responsible for coordinating ILO activities in East Timor.

International Labour Standards and Tripartism