26 July 2012

$15 minimum wage a good start

CTU supports David Clark’s members bill to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour as a good starting place to lift low wages in New Zealand says Helen Kelly, CTU President.

Helen Kelly said “many families are struggling to keep up with the cost of living, increasing the minimum wage to $15 is a good start and would give low income earners a much needed boost.”

“For many working families wages are still too low. In real terms, wages are lower than they were in 2009. The low increases to the minimum wage that we’ve seen in recent years haven’t gone far enough to help families keep afloat.”

“Low income households got next to nothing from recent tax cuts that greatly favoured high income earners, and were hit harder than higher income people by the increase in GST by having to pay a greater proportion of their income in GST. Increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour would help rebalance this equation and put more money in the pockets of low income families who are more likely to spend it creating much needed economic stimulus.”

“Any number of measures of living standards show that many New Zealanders experience hardship on a daily basis and are evidence of the widening gap between rich and poor. This Bill is an opportunity to make New Zealand a fairer place – a $15 minimum wage will improve the relativity of the minimum wage to the average wage and provide a more equitable distribution of income,” said Helen Kelly.

ENDS

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