February 27, 2014
Minimum wage tweak political
Greens leader Metiria Turei says it’s time to stop the minimum wage being a political football.
Prime Minister John Key has announced the minimum wage is to rise 50 cents an hour to $14.25.
Mr Turei says it’s an extra $4 a day hardly reflected New Zealand’s supposed rock star economy.
She says the Greens would raise it to $15 an hour and then progressively switch it to being 66 percent of the average wage.
"It’s actually reasonable that way. It doesn’t depend on the Prime Minister and what he wants to raise the minimum wage to, but there is a set level it won’t fall below. It’s not fair that there are set ways for setting other people’s salaries, but the minimum wage is really a political decision made by a political party," Ms Turei says.
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