Braemar Hospital to pay employees living wage rate

The Hamilton-based Braemar Hospital has joined the growing list of employers in New Zealand that are accredited for paying their employees the living wage.

This means that even its lowest-paid workers, including cleaners, clinical sterile services housekeepers, kitchen staff, and contracted staff, will receive the living wage rate of $22.75 an hour.

Stuff reported that the increase will affect 13% of the company's 260-member workforce, which are predominantly made up of women.

Fiona Michel, chief executive of Braemar Hospital, said the cost of the increase will be "insignificant," adding that she hopes the increase would entice more people to join their company.

"Financially, I wouldn't want to put a hard number on the cost. It's not insignificant. It is a conscious decision because we value our people," she said as quoted by Stuff.

"If you have a workforce that is well and well looked after they generate new value all by themselves. I hope our position will attract other, really talented staff," she added.

Braemar is a charitable organisation fully owned by the Braemar Charitable Trust, which also lauded the increase to the living wage rate.

Read more: Are your workers living paycheck to paycheck?

"Really proud to share this shareholder moment. Congratulations, Braemar Hospital, said the organisation on a blog post.

"This move underpins our values, our guiding principles of addressing inequities and strengthens our collective drive to improve health outcomes in our community," it added.

According to the Braemar Charitable Trust, it joins Hamilton's Anglesea Hospital in the list of hospitals that pay its staff the living wage rate, only Anglesea did not push through with an accreditation "due to time and cost."

Meanwhile, there are over 300 businesses and organisations accredited in New Zealand as living wage employers.

The increase in pay for staff of Braemar came after 10,000 health workers came very close to holding a strike last week, which was only halted at the last minute by the Employment Court.

The Public Service Association (PSA), which organised the strike, said it expected District Health Boards to "do the right thing and come to the table with a decent offer" on new collective agreements.

"Our members will not forget they have a right to fair pay and equal treatment and are resolute in their goal of reaching a fair deal," PSA organiser Will Matthews said in a statement on Friday.