The major parties: National's and labour's employment relations policies

This has already been an unusual election campaign with the two major parties sporting new leaders and a growing diversity in the two parties' employment relations policies. There seems to be no major employment relations changes planned by the National Party and instead the National-led government's recent reactive legislative interventions are overviewed. The Labour Party will support collective bargaining but its approach is short on practical details. It also plans more interventions and funding to support low paid workers and combat youth unemployment. An apparently dysfunctional labour market has highlighted immigration dependency, skill shortages, limited wage movements and youth unemployment and these issues will be confronting any new government after this general election.