MEDIA STATEMENT
Hon Tariana Turia and Hon Dr Pita Sharples
Maori Party Co-Leaders
18 June 2013
Māori Party condemns Employment Relations (Continuity of Labour) Amendment Bill
The Māori Party has today condemned the Employment Relations (Continuity of Labour) Amendment Bill.
“Our party has always spoken out in support of the right to be treated fairly and with dignity; and to enjoy the
stability of a safe and healthy work environment – these are fundamental rights for all workers in this country. We
promote the value of a living wage so that workers and their whānau can afford the basic necessities of life,” said
Tariana Turia, Maori Party Co-leader.
“Yet in just over a fortnight, the National Government has introduced two bills which threaten those fundamentals – the
Employment Relations Amendment Bill and now the latest the Employment Relations (Continuity of Labour) Amendment Bill, introduced by MP Jami-Lee Ross. This bill will overturn Section 97, to condone the use of casual labour to replace
fulltime workers during a strike,” said Dr Pita Sharples, Co-leader.
“We are utterly opposed to both bills as they reduce worker rights; endanger job security and decimate the good faith
provisions of workplace bargaining,” said Dr Sharples.
“It is just over a century since the most disruptive strike in New Zealand history – the 1913 war on the wharves in
which ‘special constables’ armed with wooden batons, firearms and horsewhips were recruited to force the unions into
arbitration; and just over sixty years since the 1951 waterfront strike in which the government used drastic emergency
regulations to seize power over the unions, including using the armed forces to replace strikers.”
“We cannot neglect our history. A decent job, living wages and fair terms and conditions for workers are absolutely
essential to our future, and we will not let this law go past lightly.”
“We also heed the call from the CTU Rūnanga, about the dire consequences for Māori workers if this legislation was to
proceed.”
“Here is an opportunity to ensure that this latest bill does not become law. The constituents of Ikaroa Rāwhiti can
elect long-time union advocate, Na Rongowhakaata Raihania, to be their representative, and the Māori Party will
therefore have the four votes necessary to overturn this latest breach of worker rights,” ended Mrs Turia.
ENDS