The living wage is being increased to $26 per hour from September 1.
The Living Wage Movement said the wage has undergone a full recalculation, resulting in thousands of workers receiving a pay increase.
It is an increase of $2.35 or 9.9 per cent on the 2022/23 rate.
Employers who take part in the Living Wage Movement agree to pay their employees the set amount per hour.
According to their website, it is set apart from the minimum wage, and worker and whānau/family focused to ensure workers can live with dignity and participate in society.
A full recalculation of the living wage happens every five years.
In other years, the living wage is linked to movement in New Zealand's average hourly wages.
"The full recalculation ensures the living wage will continue to address in-work poverty, and offer working people greater security and wellbeing," says Living Wage Movement chairperson Rev Stephen King.
"With rising costs and pressures on low waged workers, we are seeing increased hardship in the community."
Stephen says the recalculation quantifies how much costs had gone up.
Rose Kavapalu, a cleaner who is paid the living wage, says the increase of $2.35 an hour will make a huge impact in covering costs such as food and petrol.
"Since petrol prices have gone up, we've cut down on visits to extended family.
"Now, I'll be able to take the grandkids to visit their cousins. We would feel like a family again."
Kavapalu will like to see more employers pay the living wage.
She says with many employers short staffed, acknowledging the value of their employees could make a difference to retention.
"The living wage might feel like five cents to some people, but to me and my family, it means finally living a life."
Ria Lingad, owner of Your Local Coffee Roasters in Pukekohe, is an accredited living wage employer.
She says retention of staff is a big focus for her business.
Lingad says they have already started incrementally increasing staff wages ahead of the September deadline.
She says it isn't just the commitment to the living wage that enticed employees, but also the company's culture.
2 comments
watch the hardship rise
Posted on 03-04-2023 12:44 | By an_alias
How about reduce the tax....oh that doesnt get free headlines with zero effort...just push the cost to business and increase the cost of all products
Hmmm
Posted on 03-04-2023 13:05 | By Let's get real
It has me wondering how much wages and free money to beneficiaries have risen under this regime (Whether the Non-government employers can afford it or not) Businesses that have contact with council are obliged to pay this ridiculous inflationary wage and to retain staff, the smaller family owned Businesses are forced to compete financially. How long before government has control of wages in the country and how long before personal and educational improvement is irrelevant. Equal pay for streetsweepers, builders labourers and barristers. Communism anyone...?
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