The House on Wednesday passed the Fair Pay Agreements Bill, tabled by Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Wood, after a third and final reading marked by opposition members pledging to repeal it [if and] when the National Party forms a government.
Submitting his legislative statement, Minister Wood reminded the members that it was the cleaners, bus drivers and “those people on the chain and our supermarkets and retail stores” who kept the economy going during the pandemic.
He accused the opposition of failing to acknowledge the “reality of life in low-wage NZ.”
He said the National Party abolished “minimum standards in sector-based bargaining” 30 years ago. As a result, productivity went up but wages did not keep pace, the minister noted.
Fair pay agreements are about the basic ability to have “a fair day’s wage for a fair day’s work,” Wood said.
Fair pay agreements are about “stopping the race to the bottom. They are about being able to work together across employees, employers, unions, [and] to actually look at those fundamental issues that we keep talking about but not making progress on……. our chronically low rates of productivity compared to nearly every other country we compare ourselves with.”
He said Australia had a higher average rate of productivity growth compared to New Zealand.
Opposing the Bill, Scot Simpson (National) declared: “This piece of legislation is fundamentally flawed.”
He said the legislation was bad for New Zealand employers and workers, adding: “A re-elected National-led government will as a priority repeal this piece of legislation.”
Simpson said that for 30 years New Zealanders had benefitted from a nimble, flexible and exciting industrial environment.
Referring to Labour’s claim about the Bill being a manifesto promise, Simpson said that “five years later it is finally being achieved by the force of brute numbers in this chamber.”
Simpson said the legislation would take NZ back to an era when the trade unions dominated the country’s economic situation, which had been rejected by New Zealanders because “it’s old-fashioned.”
“What we know from this piece of legislation is that this is really not about fair pay agreements, it is about mandatory union deals.”
Simpson warned about deals being done with big unions behind closed doors, which would remove the opportunity for employees and employers “to negotiate terms, conditions and arrangements that suit them.”
This is a piece of legislation that is designed to boost union influence and membership in the New Zealand economy, Simpson said.
The Bill was passed by the House with Labour, Greens and Te Pati Maori voting in favour (76), and National and Act voting against (43).
The Bill will go before the Governor General for assent before becoming law.
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