Sio Su'a William: Holidays Amendment Bill — Second Reading In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee 
Sio Su'a William: Holidays Amendment Bill — Second Reading In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee 
[Volume:668;Page:15484] 
SU’A WILLIAM SIO (Labour—Mangere) 
: 
 The allegations made earlier by the member who has just resumed his seat Tau Henare have dragged us a little closer to the gutter politics we have tried to avoid in this Chamber. As a result of his allegation we have been forced to drag the poor Deputy Speaker from his busy schedule to make a ruling. That member should never have made those accusations here tonight. It is sad because once upon a time that member used to defend the working class. I would say that people who knew that member in his former life as a trade union organiser would be bowing in shame because of his support for the Holidays Amendment Bill—a bill that is designed to screw the workers and screw the workers it will. At a time when this Government should be focusing on giving workers higher pay and an income that can sustain them the Government is instead saying to cleaners caretakers women workers Maori workers Pacific workers and low-income workers: “Here sell off 1 week of your holidays.” and that forces workers who are on incomes that cannot sustain them to be in a position where they are forced to sell that 1 week just to try to get by. 
Here is something else. Two years ago when this Government came into power the first thing it did prior to Christmas was give workers a Christmas present—the 90-day fire-at-will bill. Now prior to Christmas this year we are getting an extension of the “screw the workers” outlook. 
David Bennett 
: You’re reading your lines well mate. 
SU’A WILLIAM SIO 
: I say to that member and to every member on that side of the Chamber: “Shame on you! Shame on you! Shame on you!”. This bill is unfair for working people it is unbalanced and it is unnecessary. It is designed only to drive down wages. It is designed to ensure that the greedy become greedier. Instead of handing out rightful money for fair wages to the working people the Government is forcing the working class to sell off every little bit of entitlement just to make a living. Once upon a time it used to be that one worker would be able to sustain a family of three or five. The mother stayed home and looked after the children while that one worker earning a high salary would sustain the family. 
Over the years we have been fooled by Governments such as the National Government such as the John Key Government saying that by giving more money as this Government has done to employers somehow jobs will be created. Jobs have never been created when money is given to the wealthy. Instead the Government cuts jobs—it cuts jobs. That is the kind of philosophy that underlines this Government and its policies. The Government talks about narrowing the wage gap between Australia and New Zealand and increasing productivity but this kind of bill will not narrow the wage gap between the working people of New Zealand and the working class of Australia. It deepens that divide. It increases that gap because all this bill is designed to do is drive wages down to make the poor poorer and to make the poor who are on low incomes beg from the likes of this John Key Government. The sad thing is that this bill is the Christmas present from this Government. 
The CHAIRPERSON (Hon Rick Barker) 
: Before I take the next speaker I remind members that we are debating the Holidays Amendment Bill. We have had some pretty wide-ranging speeches. I want members to come back to Part 1. We have got a little bit off focus here. There have been more general second reading speeches so before I accept the next call I remind people to be a bit more focused.