INDEPENDENT NEWS

Wage rise welcome for some, worry for others

Published: Wed 19 Dec 2018 01:21 PM
Today’s $1.20 per hour wage hike will be welcomed by workers on the minimum wage but will cost jobs and make it harder for businesses already struggling with new taxes and higher costs, National’s Workplace Relations spokesperson Scott Simpson says.
“National supports consistent increases to the minimum wage and we raised it every year we were in Government. Increases need to reflect the economic climate and inflation. While signalled, a 7 per cent hike to $17.70 an hour is steep, and so is the extra $231 million a year in costs it will impose on New Zealand businesses.
“While the announcement is good news for workers on the lowest pay rates for others it will mean their jobs are in jeopardy as businesses will struggle to absorb the new costs.
“Just last year MBIE said a similar increase of $1.25 would cost 7000 jobs and increase inflation. Some businesses will struggle as a result of this increase and jobs will go with them. We already have the highest minimum wage relative to the average wage in the OECD and this will make us more of an outlier.
“It’s yet another decision made by this Government which will make it harder to do business.
“The problem is Workplace Relations Minister Iain Lees-Galloway knows that and has said he doesn’t care. Good intentions, bad outcomes.
“You simply can’t just legislate your way to prosperity – if you could you’d simply make the minimum wage $50. But artificially inflating wages is no substitute for an economic plan.
“The fact is these decisions have consequences but like so much of what this Government does it hasn’t thought those through.”

Next in New Zealand politics

One-stop Shop Major Projects On The Fast Track
By: New Zealand Government
GPS 2024: Over $20 Billion To Get Transport Back On Track
By: New Zealand Government
New Zealand Provides Further Humanitarian Support To Gaza And The West Bank
By: New Zealand Government
High Court Judge Appointed
By: New Zealand Government
Lobbyists Riding Shotgun With Coalition Government
By: New Zealand Labour Party
Say Hello To NZ’s Most Anti-environment Government In Decades
By: Green Party
Fast Track Is Outright Assault On Environment
By: Forest And Bird
Coalition Sticking Plasters Over New Zealand’s Infrastructure Crisis
By: New Zealand Taxpayers' Union
A Fast Track To A More Sure-footed Future
By: Infrastructure NZ
GPS 2024: New $500 Million Pothole Prevention Fund
By: New Zealand Government
GPS 2024: 15 New Roads Of National Significance
By: New Zealand Government
GPS 2024: Keeping New Zealanders Safer On Our Roads
By: New Zealand Government
GPS 2024: Investing In Reliable Public Transport
By: New Zealand Government
View as: DESKTOP | MOBILE © Scoop Media