Fair Pay Agreements Bill

Members, we now come to Part 6. This is the debate on clauses 114 to 129, “Content of fair pay agreements”. The question is that Part 6 stand part.

Thank you, Mr Chair, and I do want to start the discussion on Part 6 of the bill on the fair pay agreement. I’m just conscious of the fact that there is a crowd here that seem to have come along to hear the valedictory—

💬 Hon Chris Hipkins: They’re all for you.

Oh well, I’m glad they’ve come along to hear the discussion we’re having on the fair pay agreement. We’re on our fifth hour of the committee stage of the fair pay agreement. We don’t agree with the fair pay agreement—it might surprise members who have come along—and we want to repeal this bill if we happen to win the election at this time next year. I’m conscious also of the fact that many of the supporters of Trevor Mallard might have a union background, and so there may be—I can’t help but feel a little hostility in the context of that.

We’re going to hear from the Rt Hon Trevor Mallard very soon. I would like to relay a story. I did play for the parliamentary rugby side one time in Stokes Valley, where that member used to hold the seat, and I do recall going down on the ball one night. I went down on the ball and I received a very strong knee into my back behind a very heavy person, and it has often occurred to me whether or not he’d had any encouragement from the said Rt Hon Trevor Mallard. But it was very painful, and I just wanted to relay that little story to the committee just to rebalance some of the views that no doubt we will be hearing from Trevor Mallard.

Now, coming to this point—

CHAIRPERSON (Greg O’Connor): Well, perhaps, Mr Goldsmith, you could have some encouragement to come to Part 6 of the bill, please.

I’m coming to this part. Now, this part of the bill is actually a critical part of the Fair Pay Agreements Bill, because it includes a list of things that must be included in a fair pay agreement. Now, we say it’s misnamed—fair pay agreements. They’re not fair pay agreements; they’re mandatory union deals that all businesses have to take if a very small minority of the workforce take part.

But it includes a long list of things that need to be included in a fair pay deal, and that is: hours of work, which type of work is covered, the details of wages to be paid, minimum base rates, penalty rates, payment for overtime penalty rates—a whole lot of things that need to be included in a fair pay deal. What’s not included anywhere in this bill is any reference to the productivity of the firm, and I have included an amendment to this legislation which would include and require that this be amended to include a reference to the productivity of the firm.

If you’re forced to have a conversation about a deal that would apply to every—say, if we’re taking the example of cleaners, it would involve the very big corporate cleaners in Auckland and also a mum and dad operation in Haast with one employee, for example, and another one up in the Hokianga with two employees, for example. So it’s a wide spread of businesses, and it’s got to include everything. It’s all got to include a whole bunch of things in relation to penal rates and hours of work and a whole bunch of things that will add cost to the business, but nowhere in the negotiation of this fair pay agreement—miscalled—is there any reference to the productivity of the firm, and I don’t think that any New Zealander would be surprised to know that we are concerned.

Ultimately, if we’re trying to raise wages and we’re trying to raise living standards, yes, legislation can be passed by this—

Mr Goldsmith, enchanting as we are, unfortunately the time has come for me to leave the Chair and report progress.

Progress to be reported.

House resumed.

Mr Speaker, the committee has considered the Fair Pay Agreements Bill and reports progress. I move, That the report be adopted.

Motion agreed to.

Report adopted.