11. DARIEN FENTON (Labour) Link to this
to the Minister of Labour
What advice, if any, has she received on the reason that thousands of workers all around New Zealand will be taking industrial action and attending rallies tomorrow?
Hon KATE WILKINSON (Minister of Labour) Link to this
I have been advised of the rally and understand that the workers involved are seeking better pay.
Will she or any other member of the National Government be fronting up tomorrow to the 2,700 hospital and service workers, the many thousands of publicly funded disability support carers, school support staff, hospital administrative staff, and public service workers who will be attending rallies up and down the country to protest about this Government’s wage freeze, which is hurting low-paid workers like them; if not, why not?
Hon KATE WILKINSON Link to this
I can tell the member that tomorrow I intend spending the day in Taranaki, with a day full of appointments. I could possibly catch a glimpse of the rally up there.
Does she think it is fair that low-paid workers, like the thousands who will protest tomorrow, have to accept a zero wage increase, at the same time that the cost of living is going up, the richest chief executive officers in the country are getting massive pay increases, and the Government is planning to make workers pay more for accident compensation and receive less; and is this what the Government calls “taking the sharpest edges off the recession.”?
Hon KATE WILKINSON Link to this
I say to that member that if the previous Labour Government had not wasted 9 years of golden economic weather, we would not even be having this conversation. But the harsh reality is that we are in difficult economic times, in which many people have lost their jobs. This Government is borrowing hundreds of millions of dollars a week to maintain service levels, and we want to invest in a smarter, more productive Public Service.
Grant RobertsonHow will a wage freeze for low-paid workers in the State sector, such as the ones who protest tomorrow, help to close the wage gap with Australia?
Hon KATE WILKINSON Link to this
As that member well knows, this Government is intent on balancing the economy, on taking the sharp edges off the economy. We have opted, as we have said, for a balanced policy that does protect people in the short term from the sharp edges of the recession. The policy lays the foundation for increased economic growth and more jobs, on the road to recovery for our country.
I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. You have encouraged us to ask very specific questions, and I asked a very specific question about how a wage freeze such as the Minister is proposing will narrow the wage gap with Australia; she did not address that question.
Mr SPEAKERI absolutely accept the point the member makes that he asked a very commendably to-the-point question—very commendable. The only dilemma I have is the Minister’s actual responsibility for the wage round in the public sector. That is my dilemma in asking for a more specific answer, because the Minister of State Services is actually responsible for the wage round in the State sector. That is my difficulty in asking the Minister to be more precise in her answer. So I apologise to the member, because I do commend him for an absolutely succinct question, but, sadly, it is really outside the Minister’s responsibility.