Thank you, Madam Chair.
So in this intervention I'd like to briefly introduce my Supplementary Order Paper (SOP),
which reflects the submissions that were made to the select committee, but because we didn't
have a majority on the committee we weren't able to return the bill in a way that reflected that.
So my SOP, SOP 39, makes the changes that were recommended in committee, or would have been.
So, in effect, in that SOP we are recommending that we change three pieces of legislation:
the Employment Relations Act, the Holidays Act, and the Human Rights Act.
What that will do is altogether provide a framework for employers to work out how they
support their staff who are currently impacted by domestic violence.
I do want to pick up on some of the points raised by the previous speaker, Judith Collins,
that employers shouldn't have to pay for the violence of perpetrators.
The misnomer in that—because that sounds rational, and I think we all support that
concept, but the problem is that they are paying right now, because domestic violence
doesn't just happen in the home; it happens between people wherever those people are.
We have a huge amount of evidence now from years of research that tells us about the
impact of that domestic violence in workplaces where victims are stalked in their workplaces,
where they are sabotaged from attending work or performing in their jobs by their abusers,
and that they are also often harassed in the workplace.
That is happening right now, and we know from the evidence that employers generally—most
of them don't know how to deal with it.
They either don't recognise that it's happening and understand the impact on their workplace
or, if they do, they're not sure what to do.
They want to support their staff members but they're just not quite sure how to do it.
So part of what this legislation does is provide them with the framework to walk through supporting that staff member.
That in turn increases the productivity, reduces staff turnover, and improves the entire workplace culture.
There are significant benefits to those employers as well as to us as a country but, most importantly,
to the victims.
I am really, really clear that I want every single victim in this country to have access
to those protections.
I don't want to continue with the status quo where it is a matter of luck whether you have
an employer that understands this and offers the victims support.
I do want to, too, challenge the point that this is just overwhelming and too difficult
for small businesses.
Well, actually, I've heard from small businesses who often tell me that they have almost a
family-like relationship with their staff because it's a small team.
So actually for them to be able to support their staff members if they were given a framework
is easier than it is for a large company that has to set up quite complicated HR systems
to be able to ensure that that understanding filters all the way through their workplace.
The cost on businesses and small businesses is actually less.
What we know from—and I've certainly spoken to small employers who have given their staff
time off when they've needed it and have supported them because they've had that knowledge.
We've seen over in Australia where 1.6 million workers are covered by these types of policies
already that not one report have I seen of one business going out of business because
of those policies and actions.
Actually, it reduces the stress on the employers as well as the victims.
But, of course, the primary—primary—purpose of this is to address the impacts of domestic
violence and to provide a pathway to safety for victims, because one in three women are
affected by this at the moment, and that's got to stop, and we all have to play a role
in doing that.
For more infomation >> Video: EGI Keeps Alina On Her Toes: Epilepsy Breakthrough - Duration: 1:55. 
For more infomation >> Video: New rainbow crosswalk excites Main Avenue strip regulars - Duration: 2:18. 
For more infomation >> Video: NFL stars in San Antonio give supplies to immigrant families separated at border - Duration: 1:43. 
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét