Companies get on board union member’s living wage campaign

In response to the current retail workers climate FIRST Union members have today launched their retail campaign Worth It in Auckland. Meanwhile members in retail and other sectors are celebrating Living Wage wins.

Many retail workers in New Zealand currently survive on minimum wage rates and don’t have enough hours of work to live on. Pay rates and work hours are so low that employers struggle to fill vacancies, and a pay crisis is already in effect as the average retail worker struggles to live.

So far, L’Oréal, NZ Bus and now Huckleberry’s have come to the table in offering a Living Wage to their workers.

FIRST Union has 12,500 members across the country working in the retail industry, but the campaign is aimed at transforming a large chunk of the working sector to better the lives of almost 20% of the New Zealand workforce who are at risk of insecure and/or low-paid jobs.

The launch calls on employers in the retail industry to pay workers a living wage of $20.55 an hour, give workers enough hours to live on, and ensure that as the minimum wage increases, so too do existing pay rates relative to this.

Please find a link to the footage here on the Worth IT campaign page:

https://www.facebook.com/RetailWorkersAreWorthIt/videos/1723019384450397/

ENDS

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