A business apologised after an employee heckled Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, but free speech advocates criticised the response
A heckling incident at a media event involving Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has sparked a debate about employers' responsibility for workers' conduct outside of the workplace.
Peters, along with Transport Minister Chris Bishop, attended the event on Tuesday at the Wellington Train Station and was answering questions over the potential punishment of MPs for last year's Treaty Principles haka.
At the end of the press conference a member of the public wearing a lanyard from engineering consultancy firm Tonkin + Taylor is reported to have called out "what a load of bollocks," prompting an angry response from Peters.
"Who said bollocks? You look like bollocks, go look in the mirror, sunshine. You look like bollocks, mate," Peters responded, leading to a heated exchange between the pair.
In a statement, Tonkin + Taylor confirmed the heckler was a company employee and said they would carry out a probe as a result of the incident.
"We are investigating in line with our Code of Conduct and for privacy reasons we won't be commenting any further," the company said in a statement quoted by RNZ. "At Tonkin + Taylor we take our responsibilities as a major New Zealand employer seriously. We do not condone behaviour that falls short of our Code of Conduct."
It also extended an apology to the officials involved in the incident.
"We sincerely apologise to the event organisers, attendees, the Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister Bishop, for the disruption caused," the company said.
But the response drew criticism from the Free Speech Union, saying the incident did not warrant an internal investigation.
"The incident occurred in a public space, outside of working hours, and did not appear to involve any reference to the employee's role at Tonkin + Taylor," the union said.
"Had he not been wearing a lanyard or otherwise associated with Tonkin + Taylor, we suspect the incident would have passed without any internal investigation or public comment."
According to the union, employers should be cautious to avoid making an impression that employees can be disciplined for lawful expressions of political opinion in their private capacity.
"Public apologies or denunciations may be appropriate where an employee has clearly represented the company or where reputational harm is directly caused."
"In the absence of such factors, issuing an apology risks chilling employees' willingness to speak freely, and sets a troubling precedent for employer overreach into the private political expression of staff."
Meanwhile, Peters has confirmed to Newstalk ZB that Tonkin + Taylor had apologised, but didn't comment further because it was an employment matter.
The employee subject to the probe, on the other hand, said he was "apologetic" over the incident, but did not comment further amid the investigation, the New Zealand Herald reported.
