WELLINGTON, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- The New Zealand government has taken an important step toward creating a high-performing economy that delivers good jobs, decent work conditions and fair wages with a new bill to amend the Employment Relations Act 2000, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Iain Lees-Galloway said on Thursday.

The bill is designed to provide greater protections to workers, especially vulnerable workers, and strengthen the role of collective bargaining in the workplace to ensure fair wages and conditions, Lees-Galloway said in a statement.

"Too many working New Zealanders are missing out on the benefits of economic growth under the current employment relations system," he said, adding that many of the changes in the bill are focused on lifting wages through collective bargaining.

"We will also reinstate key minimum standards and protections to employees, such as the right to prescribed meal and rest breaks and limiting the use of 90-day trial periods to businesses with fewer than 20 employees," the minister said.

This is the start of a progressive program in workplace relations which includes the passing of historic Equal Pay legislation, lifting the minimum wage to 20 NZ dollars (14.7 U.S. dollars) by April 1, 2021, and the creation of a framework for Fair Pay Agreements, he said.

The legislation is expected to have its first reading in early February.