Wednesday, January 12, 2011



Time to Mondayize our public holidays

Its less than a month to Waitangi Day, and people are again noticing that for the second year in a row it falls on a weekend, meaning that we are robbed of a public holiday. We get robbed over Anzac Day too - this year it coincides with Easter Monday, so no holiday there either. This has led to both Labour and the EPMU calling for all public holidays to be "Mondayized", ensuring that we always get a holiday regardless of what day of the week it happens to fall on.

This is standard practice overseas, and its just a good idea. And its not as if we can't afford it. As Phil Goff points out, if employers can afford it five years out of seven, they can afford it for the other two. Opposing it is just penny-pinching. Sadly, that's exactly what John Key and his business mates are doing - stealing our holidays to make greater profits for themselves.

Sadly, it is already too late to do anything about it this year - Parliament would need to pass a law (which takes at least six months if done properly), and it won't sit until after Waitangi Day. So this year, if we want a Mondayized holiday, we'll simply have to take it ourselves.