Pillay Lynne: Shop Trading Hours Act 1990 Repeal (Easter Sunday Local Choice) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Pillay Lynne: Shop Trading Hours Act 1990 Repeal (Easter Sunday Local Choice) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
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LYNNE PILLAY (Labour) 
: 
 I open my speech by thanking Gerry Brownlee. Although we do not agree— 
Moana Mackey 
: Yeah that’s enough. 
LYNNE PILLAY 
: That is enough. In the interests of democracy I thank him for allowing me to take a call on the Shop Trading Hours Act 1990 Repeal (Easter Sunday Local Choice) Amendment Bill. 
Firstly I acknowledge all speakers. Although I do not agree with the members on the other side of the House and the ACT speakers I acknowledge that it is very important to have the debate on this issue. I also acknowledge Steve Chadwick and commend her for her speech because although I do not agree with her on this issue I know that she has brought this issue to this House many times before. I think the last time that a similar bill to this one was before the House a number of Labour members argued that it should go forward but that we should have in place rights and protections for the workers who work on that day. 
Paul Quinn 
: Select committee. 
LYNNE PILLAY 
: No no. That bill went to a select committee but let us get real. In terms of the numbers in this House—and they are not the numbers that we wanted—to support this bill’s referral to a select committee on the basis that there might be some worker protection and workers’ rights given the history of this Government in dealing— 
Paul Quinn 
: Trust us. 
LYNNE PILLAY 
: My friend opposite says to trust those members but we need only look at the 90-day legislation and at the cuts to KiwiSaver and the accident compensation scheme. Nicky Wagner is probably another victim of the cuts to accident compensation. 
I acknowledge Steve Chadwick. I know that she supports this bill. Her view is not the one that I or many of my colleagues take but she has the integrity to stand in this House and talk about the rights of workers in New Zealand. 
Members opposite talk about choice. They talk about whether workers will sell their fourth week’s holiday because they think that it is a completely equal relationship in the workforce do they not? It is completely equal! The employer comes in and says: “Look by the way I have no power over you but would you like to sell your fourth week’s holiday or would you like to work on a public holiday?”. It will have nothing to do with the fact that workers may want some extra leave because their child has extra needs or whatever. Members opposite think that that is a completely equal playing field. That is where members opposite miss the plot completely. 
It is not an equal power relationship. I can vouch for this because before I came to this House and before I worked to represent workers and to see that their rights were respected I was a nurse. Everyone knows that the people working in hospitals and in health care are in the one area of work where we cannot tell—and I can see Gerry Brownlee nodding furiously in agreement—those people to go home. We cannot tell nurses doctors and midwives to go home or say that they are not needed at the moment because the market does not need them. We know that is ensured. But when we look at the retail sector we know that there are very few days now in our year when workers have that time with their families. 
We know that given the choice people are very very on to it. Retailers and consumers know that if the shops are shut on a particular day then that day is when people can enjoy being with their families. Retail workers can also have that day off to enjoy with their families and the shops can sell their wares on other days. 
We absolutely acknowledge Steve Chadwick who is supporting the bill because we are very pragmatic— 
Paul Quinn 
: And Shane he is coming with us. 
LYNNE PILLAY 
: It is a conscience vote; I would not know. We see—I am rather disappointed about it and I will put it on record—that the Maori Party members who are there to advocate for workers’ interests have chosen to split their support on this bill. But I am proud to say that I do not support this bill.