Boyack Rachel; Salesa JennyRACHEL BOYACK (Labour—Nelson): Thank you Madam Speaker. It's a pleasure to take a call on the Fair Pay Agreements Bill. Before I begin I wish to acknowledge the passing of Gloria Ruru wife of my friend and Nelson Whakatū Archdeacon Emeritus Harvey Ruru who passed away last week after a long health battle. My love and thoughts are with you Harvey and whānau. Moe mai rā Gloria.Today we take another step forward in ensuring we have decent employment law that will lift the wages of the lowest-paid workers in New Zealand. Fair pay agreements will improve wages and conditions for employees as well as level the playing field so that good employers don't get undercut and disadvantaged.In my maiden speech to this House I said that during my time in Parliament I wish to see a fair pay agreement for all retailer workers in New Zealand. It is 10 years since I began working for New Zealand's retail union FIRST Union that oversees bargaining for retail workers. FIRST Union has collective employment agreements in place with most of New Zealand's large retailers including Countdown supermarkets The Warehouse Bunnings Farmers and Kmart. These are large profitable companies that can afford to pay their workers fairly. The collective agreements in place at these retailers have led to higher wages and better conditions for workers like extra annual leave and sick leave and the transferring of public holidays so that workers who work a Tuesday to Saturday roster don't miss out on precious public holidays. These are the kinds of terms and conditions that would make sense to be part of a retail fair pay agreement.Over the past 10 years I've worked alongside my friend Pak'nSave Richmond delegate Jenny Wells and other workers at Pak'nSave to bargain for a collective agreement for the workers at the supermarket which is the largest supermarket in my electorate of Nelson. That fight has not been successful because our employment law is not designed to support sector-wide bargaining.In New Zealand we have a supermarket duopoly. Countdown supermarkets have a nationwide collective agreement that provides decent wages and conditions to thousands of workers. Pak'nSave and New World supermarkets who are part of the Foodstuffs chain do not have a nationwide collective agreement. Their checkout operators night-fill workers and deli and bakery workers are generally paid around $2 per hour less than Countdown workers. It's not fair and it needs to change.The Commerce Commission's inquiry into supermarkets found that supermarkets make $430 million a year in excess profits. As well as having fairer prices at the checkout for consumers that profit needs to go to the workers who do the hard work every day making profit for the owners of the supermarkets.During the COVID lockdowns New Zealand retail workers especially our supermarket workers were finally recognised for the skilled and essential workers that they are. They showed incredible tenacity during one of the most difficult times in our nation's history. They turned up every day risking their health and wellbeing to deliver essential services to our community. They deserve fair wages and conditions at work and fair pay agreements will help deliver that.My thanks to the Education and Workforce committee officials submitters and the Minister for their work in bringing together this significant piece of legislation that will change the working lives of many of New Zealand's lowest-paid workers.Today our Parliament under the leadership of the Labour Government takes another step forward in putting in place the most progressive and fair piece of employment law that New Zealand has seen since the early 1990s. My generation—a generation that grew up under the Employment Contracts Act a devastating piece of employment law that led to reductions in real wages—and the generations to come will finally have a sector-based bargaining framework that is modern fair and ensures that a fair day's work does equal a fair day's pay.The introduction of the Employment Contracts Act in 1991 has been one of the key drivers behind inequality in Aotearoa. This legislation helps to correct that wrong from over 30 years ago. As we face the cost of living and inflation pressures that we see in New Zealand and globally this Labour Government is making a transformational change to our employment law so that our lowest-paid workers can be paid the income they deserve. Every day I'm proud to be part of a Labour Government that is making a difference in the lives of working people. Today on this side of the House we're standing up for hard working people who deserve the dignity that fair pay agreements will bring to their working lives. I commend this bill to the House.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jenny Salesa): The next call is a split call. I call on Erica Stanford—five minutes.