Pillay Lynne: Employment Relations (Workers’ Secret Ballot for Strikes) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Pillay Lynne: Employment Relations (Workers’ Secret Ballot for Strikes) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:662;Page:10357] 
LYNNE PILLAY (Labour) 
: 
 It is a pleasure to stand and speak in support of Tau Henare’s bill the Employment Relations (Workers’ Secret Ballot for Strikes) Amendment Bill. Like my friend and colleague Darien Fenton I say that it is nice—and I do not share the view of a previous speaker that this bill should not be supported—to see a bill that relates to workers that does not deal to workers. I congratulate Tau Henare on that; I think that is really commendable. 
Members on this side of the House have been very supportive of Tau’s notice. Indeed Trevor Mallard was very helpful in terms of supporting the member. With all sincerity I ask that the member consider supporting another workers’ bill that will be coming to this House very soon. It is the bill about supporting the right of every worker to redundancy compensation. If the goodwill that I can feel flowing across the Chamber can be replicated for that bill it would be a very happy day in this House. I do not think we see many happy days in this House at the moment. 
This bill is nothing short of aspirational. It is not non-binding but in a funny way it has that same feel about it. It is aspirational in that it does what is already happening in practice and there is nothing wrong with that happening. 
I also want to put on record—and I say this very sincerely to the member—that I remember that he was as renowned in the union movement for his contribution his diligence and the work he did as he is in this House. Everyone on this side of the House—and I can see affirmation from other members—thinks that Tau Henare’s contribution is certainly up there in this House with what it was in the union movement. I say that with all sincerity to the member. [ 
Interruption 
] Kia ora. 
I wonder when the last time was in this House that we have been able to say anything positive about any of the National members of Parliament. Certainly there is no time that I can remember. This may not be a huge issue but it is something that is deeply felt by the member. It is something that he has held close to his heart since the 1980s. It is probably what drove him to stand for Parliament. I will make sure that I hear his speech at the end of his career because I know that this bill will be up there as one of his achievements. It will go down in history. It is disappointing that the Maori Party is not supporting this bill at this stage. 
Sue Moroney 
: They are supporting it. 
LYNNE PILLAY 
: I apologise. Despite the workers unions the Maori Party is supporting this bill. Apart from perhaps the ACT Party—although maybe even their members will support it—there will be a meeting of minds in the House. The aspirational member Tau Henare has brought this House together under this bill and it is very commendable. 
It seems rather sad that I have to say this when we are being quite positive but there are things that have come before this House in terms of workers’ rights that are not so aspirational and not so good. Those are things like the 90-day bill which is now an Act. I wish that Tau Henare had applied his heart and soul and had stuck up and convinced his caucus as he has with this bill that it was something that should not have been done. Although we have seen the minimum wage go from $12 to $12.50 an hour the cry is to get that wage to $15 an hour. There was the slashing of pay equity which—hello déjà vu—is exactly what happened in 1991. I urge the member—and I can see that he is listening really intently—to reconsider his position on some of those issues. In the future I hope that we can see more of a meeting of minds on bills for workers’ rights. Thank you very much.