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Pay survey reveals scale of the country’s wage gap


E Tū says Herald top pay survey reveals scale of the country’s wage gap

The union E Tū says today’s NZ Herald survey of top pay reveals the scale of the country’s wage gap and strengthens the case for a Living Wage.
The Herald’s survey shows average salaries for top CEOs rocketed by 12% last year, to $1.68 million, compared with pay rises for most workers of just 2.2% (CTU figures).

Fonterra chief executive, Theo Spierings earned $4.94 million while ANZ boss David Hisco and Fletcher Building boss, Mark Adamson earned about $4 million.

E Tū delegate, and cleaner Ario Sio works two jobs to make ends meet and says her minimum wage pay rate of $15.25 is not enough for her and her children to live on.

She says $5 million is “heaps of money, just big money. That $5 million should be divided with the people who need help.”

Ario’s pay risE Tūhis year was just 5 cents an hour. ”It’s not fair for me. What about the Living Wage. My pay should be $18 or $19 an hour.”

The National Director of Campaigning for E Tū, Annie Newman says the big lift in top pay reveals “an extraordinary sense of entitlement by some people in our society and is reflected in our local government, such as Auckland Council, wherE Tūhe CEO got a 10% pay increasE Tūhis year.”
Annie says “When workers get small pay rises of around 1% and try to scrapE Tūogether a living on the minimum wagE Tūhese excessive salary increases can only makE Tūhe gap between the rich and poor in NZ worse.

“In the end our whole society pays the price of low pay in poor education and health outcomes and unsafe communities.”

This year the Living Wage, effective July 1st, has been set at $19.25 an hour.


ENDS

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