Gallagher Martin: Shop Trading Hours Act Repeal (Easter Trading)Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
Gallagher Martin: Shop Trading Hours Act Repeal (Easter Trading)Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:639;Page:9316] 
MARTIN GALLAGHER (Labour—Hamilton West) 
: 
 I thank Maryan Street for agreeing to split her 10 minutes. I also want to pay my respects to the member for Rotorua Steve Chadwick who I think is a wonderful inspiring and fantastic member for that area. She is a really good member but with due respect on this issue she and I agree to differ—a very rare event—in the spirit of great democracy that we have. 
I also want to say simply that I strongly oppose the Shop Trading Hours Act Repeal (Easter Trading) Amendment Bill. I believe that it is the thin edge of the wedge. I briefly but very importantly acknowledge—notwithstanding the last census which acknowledged we still have a very significant proportion of people in our country who adhere to a Christian viewpoint and have a Christian faith—that there are but 3 major days when there is no shop trading. Those days are Good Friday Christmas Day and Easter Sunday. For that reason and that reason alone I oppose this bill. Out of 365 days a year I do not think it is a big ask frankly to acknowledge those days. I believe that it will also be the thin end of the wedge because Easter Sunday will go then it will be Good Friday then it will be Christmas Day and then it will be Anzac Day morning. 
I was inspired by a letter addressed to our senior Government whip Tim Barnett from an official of the National Distribution Union which does a great job protecting workers in a whole range of industries. I want to commit this letter to  
Hansard 
—if that has not already been done—because it sums up this debate from my point of view as the Labour member of Parliament representing the Hamilton West electorate. The letter states: “I am a wife mother and grandmother. I am also a worker at a shop floor in this case at a major building store retailer in New Zealand.” I will not mention the company or the locality because I want to make double sure that she is not victimised by that major national company. 
Jacqui Dean 
: Ha ha! 
MARTIN GALLAGHER 
: The member may laugh all she might over there but this is a real issue for ordinary workers who can be victimised. “I am concerned about this store trading on Easter Sunday as are all workers for this chain throughout New Zealand. At Easter this year I refused to work the Sunday and spent time with my whanau instead for cultural and spiritual reasons. Other workers felt compelled to work for the following reasons: (1) Pressure by employers to work as a team. (2) The effect of upcoming appraisals and how it could maintain their current positions; that is some cohorts were telling their workers that they need to be reliable to improve their conditions and positions. (3) Because of the low wages workers felt compelled to work knowing that they would be paid time and a half. I ask you on behalf of all workers and as a grandmother to protect what little time we have per year by banning trade for this particular company on Easter Sunday. As an elected delegate I confidently speak on behalf of all the workers in my particular retail chain under management in saying that we fully support the bill to ban trading on Easter Sunday. We look to you and all our Government leaders to protect retail workers from the kind of abuse of power that can happen in corporate-owned companies such as this one in regard to trading on public holidays.” 
Yes we in this Parliament have leverage. We have negotiating skills. Many of the people who put us into this Parliament do not have those negotiating skills. I strongly and passionately believe that this bill is but a thin end of the wedge to further denude working conditions for workers in this country. We have 365 days in a year. Is it too much to ask for but 3½ of those days to be protected? In this country of ours that is all we have left now. If members go as was mentioned to other countries such as parts of the United States of America and Europe—and I was in Germany the other year—they will see how fascinating it is that Germany a powerful successful economy has far more restrictive shop trading hours than we do in New Zealand. 
I apologise if the content of my speech appears to be somewhat emotional; it is not intended in that way but I believe we should give thought to ordinary people in this country who do not have leverage. When those people are told they have to work on Easter Sunday they will do so. 
Finally we talk about work-life balance. That means that for at least 3½ days out of 365—that is 1 percent—we might have a little bit of work-life balance in terms of at least guaranteeing that a section of our population can enjoy that time with their family and friends. We believe in family values. Thank you Madam Assistant Speaker.