新西兰英语 157 Review of Holidays Act 2003

　　The Minister of Labour, Kate Wilkinson, has announced that there is going to be a review of the Holidays Act 2003 to see if any changes are needed. The review could mean that in the future, instead of taking a holiday, employees could ask for money instead. The Holidays Act 2003 was brought in by the Labour Government, and will be reviewed by a group that includes representatives from the Council of Trade Unions and Business New Zealand. They will produce a report before the end of the year with recommendations¹ for the Government.
At the moment, employees in New Zealand get four weeks paid annual holidays after the first 12 months of employment and they cannot be swapped² for cash. Business groups think the review is a good idea because the law at the moment is confusing. They also say that not everyone works 9am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday. Some people also want to spread their holidays throughout the year instead of taking them all in one month. Unions and the Labour Party however think that some workers might take the cash instead of time off, especially those on a low income or with heavy workloads³.
Annual holidays are important as they give people time to relax with their families and enjoy their hobbies. Some countries such as Singapore and Hong Kong only have seven days annual leave and China and USA have no leave written into the law. Before 2003, the law in New Zealand was three weeks annual leave and with no extra payment for working a public holiday.
Contributed by Anita Jones

1 recommendations   

n.推荐( recommendation的名词复数 )；推荐信；正式建议；提议

参考例句：

• The board completely disregarded my recommendations. 董事会完全无视我的建议。
• Recommendations from two previous clients helped to establish her credibility. 两位以前的客户的推荐有助于确立她的诚信度。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 swapped   

交换（工作）( swap的过去式和过去分词 )； 用…替换，把…换成，掉换（过来）

参考例句：

• I liked her coat and she liked mine, so we swapped. 我喜欢她的外套，她喜欢我的外套，于是我们就交换了。
• At half-time the manager swapped some of the players around. 经理在半场时把几名队员换下了场。

3 workloads   

（某一人或组织）工作量，工作负担( workload的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Project management software can provide such visibility into everyone's skills and workloads. 项目管理软件可以提供这样的能见度到每个人的技能和工作量。
• Doctors have complained of heavy workloads. 医生投诉工作越来越繁重。