13 AUGUST, 2015

Māori Party votes help contractor wage bill passes first reading

Māori Party Co-leader Marama Fox says the party’s support for the Minimum Wage (Contract Remuneration) Amendment Bill last night is consistent with the Māori Party’s policy on raising the minimum wage.

The private member’s bill in the name of Labour MP David Parker relied on the support of the Māori Party and United Future to pass its first reading.

Mrs Fox says the bill will close up the loophole on contractors who are currently being paid less than the minimum wage of $14.75.

“It also shows the political power of two. If the Māori Party or the United Future Party hadn’t supported the bill it wouldn’t have gone through,” she says.

This bill will prevent businesses from paying contractors in industries such as cleaning, home-care, food catering and couriering less than the minimum wage.

Māori Party Co-leader Te Ururoa Flavell says the party has consistently lobbied for a rise in the minimum wage and against the massive inequities that exist between those on low pay and those on high incomes.

“This bill will help protect those contract workers who are most vulnerable to exploitation. The Māori Party will continue to keep the pressure on raising the minimum wage.

“There is evidence that increasing the minimum wage doesn’t lead to massive job losses and it can in fact increase productivity.”

The Minimum Wage (Contractor Remuneration) Amendment Bill will now go to the Transport and Industrial Relations Select Committee before going back to Parliament for its second reading.

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