Christina | Avondale
“Well, I’m sort of helping, volunteer work on the living wage movement in the union movement.
Someone got the sack from their job, so I’m trying to help her out, you know, have mediation with the employer and that, try to get some sort of agreement, and sometimes I come down here with food to help out with homeless people who come here, and share food with them. Yeah, I got some classes down here in the community, or hang around with these guys.
I’ve worked in this country since I was 17. Worked two or three jobs. So, if you’re working for someone for a lot of hours, 10-12 hours a day, you should make them feel special. Look after your workers properly, love and respect in the workplace, and if they’re not working, you know, pay them what they’re entitled to. It will make them feel special, love and respect between the workers and the employer, or you know, people on the benefit; treat them like they’re special.
Well, I reckon to get this country out of poverty is to pay them a decent wage so they could live, you know, and afford. The cost of living goes up, not by cents, but by dollars. Since I’ve been working in this country, I used to clean in all the Government departments, including Parliament for like $9 an hour. So, when the cost of living rises by $10, you know, going up, the minimum wage is $16.50 now.
The living wage we’re pushing through is up to $20.20 an hour. So, we’re saying, look here our employers, workers they need more than $20 an hour, because sometimes the rent doubles. I’ve worked in food-bank in my church for four years, and I listen to a lot of stories and see what happened in the community, homelessness, people with no jobs. They come to church for food-bank. They come to church because they’re suffering and they’re hurt and that, and if their pay would be a good decent pay to meet the cost of living. That’s why they need to up the benefit and the wages, and then you have happy families.
You have happy families; you have happy community, happy country, and everybody happy. I’m helping people out who have lost their jobs on little things. People are losing their jobs on little things, where the employer can, you know, do better and train them up or look after their workers properly. So, now they’re on the benefit and that’s why we have, the beneficiaries are increasing, not decreasing. Increasing, because people are out of jobs, and another thing is, I think people coming over on work permits; they’re taking jobs, and people of New Zealand don’t have jobs. So, where is the fairness in all of this?
What’s important to me in my life? My children. I was born in Auckland but raised up in the islands of Samoa. I worked in the islands, and learned a lot in the islands by working in the plantation, back home we fish, and plant for our food every day.
I came back to this country and then I went straight into the workplace, working fulltime and part-time, it’s all like two, three jobs, and trying to play sports at the same time, because I love sports as well, but then I had to help out my parents back home, so I had to get another job, and sent money home to help mum and dad, and the family and that.
I have a family, and I try, by getting myself out of poverty, helping my family out by working all these jobs, I made sure they have the best education that I can afford, or feed them well, and now they’re all grown up and they love sports. So, they’re playing sports and that. My family comes first, and now I do voluntary work for the church, because I don’t have a paid job. So, it’s wherever, what kind of work you do, whether it’s volunteer, you do it with love and you know, do it with love from your heart. You care for others as well.”
