The new rate will come into effect 1 September 2019
The Living Wage is defined as the income necessary to provide workers and their families with the basic necessities of life.
The purpose of the Living Wage is to “enable workers to live with dignity and to participate as active citizens in society”, according to The Living Wage Movement Aotearoa New Zealand.
Indeed, it has just been announced that the Living Wage has increased from $20.55 to $21.15. The new rate will come into effect 1 September 2019.
Moreover, the Living Wage Movement welcomed their newest accredited Living Wage Employer, Seashore Cabaret café in Petone.
The popular café employs around 50 people, including at their other Living Wage businesses, Good Fortune coffee and Miss Fortune’s café in Lower Hutt.
Felicia Scherrer, the National Living Wage Accreditation Coordinator, said this is a major event in the calendar of the Living Wage Movement.
Additionally, it’s important for “ethical employers, from large corporates like Westpac, to big SMEs like Seashore Cabaret, to many small employers who want to do the right thing”.
Scherrer added that the Living Wage “makes good business sense”.
“Not only does Living Wage accreditation support a business reputation as an ethical employer, it also means better staff culture, a lift in productivity, and minimising the many costs associated with poverty wages.”
The New Zealand Living Wage rate is identified each year by Charles Waldegrave of the Family Centre’s Social Policy Research Unit and Dr Peter King. This year’s increase of 60 cents is in line with the movement of the average wage.
Moreover, the Living Wage increase also coincided with the minimum wage increase of $1.20 to $17.70 an hour.
The minimum wage rise is the second in a series of increases with the next minimum wage increase provisionally scheduled to rise to $18.90 in April 2020 and $20.00 in April 2021.