Over the next year or so New Zealand will experience the biggest changes in industrial relations since the passing of the Employment Contracts Act in 1991.

While it's not yet clear how much these will affect the road transport industry, it is worth getting our heads around what the Government's intentions are anyway.

The Government's big-ticket item is the establishment of a sector-wide bargaining system that would result in the development of Fair Pay Agreements.

These are really just a cute new name for industry or national awards that are being designed to set minimum terms and conditions for all workers in an entire industry or occupation – across the whole country.

Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says that "the aim of Fair Pay Agreements is to prevent a race to the bottom, where some employers are undercut by others who reduce costs through low wages and poor conditions of employment.

"Fair Pay Agreements will help lift wages and conditions and ensure good employers are not disadvantaged by paying reasonable industry-standard wages."

In what is probably one of Labour's biggest political coups since coming to office they have managed to convince former National Party Prime Minister Jim Bolger to chair the working group tasked with designing the legislation...