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Download AudioMāori organisations are starting to sign on to the Living Wage Movement, and a former organiser for the movement says it’s bringing benefits for both workers and the businesses that employ them.
Lyndy McIntyre has written a Power to Win, a book detailing the history of the movement in Aotearoa New Zealand and the stories of the kaimahi whose lives have changed once they’re paid enough to meet their needs, enjoy their lives and participate in society.
The current living wage is calculated at $27.80, or $4.65 more than the minimum wage of $23.15.
She says it’s spread from a few small employers to entities like local councils, public sector departments and larger entities like Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Toa Rangatira.
“When workers are valued there is plenty of research that shows those workers don’t leave their jobs so there is lower turnover, there is less cost for recruitment, there’s higher retention, there’s more productivity. When workers feel valued it’s not only good for the workers and their whanau but it’s good for the employer, it’s good for business,” Ms McIntyre says
In one case she found, Wellington Council’s move to put its parking wardens on the living wage meant one worker was able to bring his hours down from 70-plus to 40 and reclaim his whānau life.
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