Fair pay agreements will not take us back in time as alleged. This is a modern solution to a modern problem of low wages and low productivity, and is a further real and substantive step to the realisation of the dignity of workers and the recognition of working people's huge contribution to our society. This bill is the culmination of years of work in the labour movement and union leaders such as Helen Kelly and John Ryall. The Employment Relations Act reversed the worst of these changes, but it is not enough. Collective bargaining these days, even for multi-employer, multi-union collective agreements, still only covers those who work in places that are covered by these agreements. And it didn't stop the race with no winner: the race to the bottom. So workers are still vulnerable, and this is why we need this legislation. Employers cutting wages and conditions to try and win contracts pits too many New Zealanders against each other. Instead, we want a clear and open pathway to better conditions, to higher wages for more prosperous and a fairer society. 