Arena Williams (Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Ngāi Tahu, Ngāi Tūhoe) is the Labour MP for the Auckland electorate of Manurewa. She is a lawyer and mother of two. Stuart Smith is the National MP for the South Island electorate of Kaikōura. He comes from a Canterbury family that were fifth-generation sheep and deer farmers. He has three adult children.

OPINION: Restraint of trade clauses in employment contracts have been highlighted in the legal fight by journalist Tova O’Brien who is leaving TV.

There are reports that seamstresses on $20 an hour are subject to six months’ restraint, meaning because they can’t afford a legal challenge or take that much time off work, they are effectively trapped in their jobs.

This seems unfair. Why doesn’t Parliament alter the law to restrict use of restraint clauses?

An MP from each side of the house gives their views.

Arena Williams, Labour MP Manurewa

Restraints of trade can be used to keep working people down. They can be a handbrake on productivity and innovation, and they don’t usually serve the industry well in the long run.

A couple of years ago, a friend came to me for legal advice. She was picking up dress-making and design work through our local mums’ network and wanted to set up her own business.

She had been working at the mall hemming jeans for years on 10-hour shifts, and her boss would regularly remind the workers of the restraint clauses in their contracts.

“These clauses are rarely enforced,” I told her. “I don’t have the money to...

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