We know there are a lot of workers out there who do not lightly walk off the job and forfeit wages, but who do demand the human right to take industrial action when something matters enough. I hope that the day will come when a Government of this country will allow Aotearoa to legally adhere to ILO Convention 87. As one submitter told us, "Along with the right to vote, the right to strike is a measure of the democracy that a country can claim to have."
I turn now to the second SOP which we had placed before the House under Part 8 of this Bill, dealing with clause 107 (3) (a) and an associated amendment to Schedule 1. The Green Party has formally withdrawn these amendments in favour of an SOP in the name of the Honorable Margaret Wilson.
The Minister's SOP deals with the same concern as we had, about the possibly dangerous impact of unnotified strikes and lockouts on members of the public using road and rail passenger services, especially children, women, people with disabilities and the elderly. As Members are aware, improving public transport and safeguarding the wellbeing of those who use it is a core issue for the Green Party. We also of course have an equal commitment to the rights of the bus and rail workers who have in many cases suffered a great deal in terms of the degradation of wages and conditions since the introduction of the Employment Contracts Act.
Thus we have been working hard over the last few weeks to find a way of reconciling our determination to maintain the integrity of public land transport which is excluded from the Essential Industries list in Schedule 1, while at the same time recognising the right of employers, and particularly workers in this sector to use the final stage bargaining tools at their disposal.
Before we raised this issue with Government the Green Party spoke with unions and employers involved in passenger services. Both agreed that there was no question that it is in the community's best interest to have wide public notification given prior to any form of disruption of services.
Of course, the employers wanted more than we were prepared to consider - they had lobbied to be included in the Essential Industries Schedule, with 3 or 14 days notice. And the unions preferred the status quo. But we felt the issues involved in this situation were serious enough to work to try and find a sensible compromise, so that on the one hand none of us can stand accused, as we have been, of being willing to leave young children stranded at bus stops without any means of getting home, and on the other, of denying workers on buses and trains the right to take action in defence of their wages and conditions.
We believe the amendment the Government has come up with is superior to our own and other Parties' SOPs on this issue, and we urge all sides of the House to vote for it.
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