Svetlana Velmar-Janković

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

	Name	Term of Office
1	William Pember Reeves	31 May 1892	10 January 1896	Ballance
1	William Pember Reeves	31 May 1892	10 January 1896	Seddon
2	Richard Seddon	10 January 1896	10 June 1906	Seddon
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	Coates
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	Forbes
14	Tim Armstrong	6 December 1935	13 December 1938	Savage
15	Paddy Webb	13 December 1938	27 June 1946	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	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	Holyoake
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	Muldoon
28	Stan Rodger	26 July 1984	8 August 1989	Lange
29	Helen Clark	8 August 1989	2 November 1990	Palmer
29	Helen Clark	8 August 1989	2 November 1990	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
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

^ Department of Labour (2008). "Briefing for Incoming Ministers".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
^ 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.
^ Evans, Lewis. "Law and the economy". Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
^ Tattersfield 2020, p. 184.
^ 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.
^ Anderson, Gordon (1991). "The Employment Contracts Act 1991: an employers' charter?" (PDF). New Zealand Journal of Industrial Relations. 16: 127–142 – via NZLII.
^ The Employment Contracts Act and its economic impact - New Zealand Parliament, retrieved 8 April 2025
^ Wilson 1985, pp. 71–97.

References

Tattersfield, Brad (20 May 2020). Bill Birch: Minister of Everything. 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.

[1] Department of Labour (2008). "Briefing for Incoming Ministers".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

[h579-2] 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.

[h876-3] Evans, Lewis. "Law and the economy". Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 8 April 2025.

[FOOTNOTETattersfield2020184-4] Tattersfield 2020, p. 184.

[y394-5] 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.

[t716-7] The Employment Contracts Act and its economic impact - New Zealand Parliament, retrieved 8 April 2025

[FOOTNOTEWilson198571–97-8] Wilson 1985, pp. 71–97.

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