05 October 2011

Greens support Parliamentary cleaners

The Green Party supports the Parliamentary cleaners’ bid for better wages, Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei says.

“The Government has cut the Parliamentary Services budget and the people who are suffering are the lowest paid workers,” Mrs Turei said.

“John Key and Bill English get to sit in clean offices and eat from clean kitchens because of the hard work of these people. They deserve to be paid a fair wage.

“John Key and Bill English do not see these workers in the early hours of the morning taking out their garbage, so they can ignore the impacts of their cuts to the public service.

“The costs of these funding cuts are being borne by low paid workers who have families to care for and bills to pay.

“We fully support the Parliamentary cleaners and their bid for better wages.”

Mrs Turei said the Green Party had a plan to bring 100,000 children out of poverty and that one of its key measures was immediately raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour.
“For every five children in poverty, two live in working households. Low paid jobs trap children and their families in poverty.

“John Key might be proud of a low wage, poverty trap economy but the Greens believe our families deserve better.”

Mrs Turei will be joining the Parliamentary cleaners’ lunch in the Labour caucus room today at 12 PM along with the Service and Food Workers Union, and church and social justice leaders.

ENDS

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