9 July 2018

Workers and community groups have agreed to campaign together to make Bluff a Living Wage town.

More than 70 workers from Bluff-based Sanford Fisheries and Ngai Tahu Fisheries met on Friday last week to discuss what the Living Wage would mean for them.

On Sunday, different members of the Bluff community gathered to get a ball rolling for a local Living Wage campaign.

“Earning the Living Wage would mean so much to so many of us,” says Sanford worker, Linda Bevin.

“We work really hard for less than $19 an hour, which is pretty hard to take. It means we struggle with things like keeping up with existing bills, let alone paying an unexpected bill, and sometimes we just can’t do it.”

Fellow Sanford worker Tabitha Jessiman added that the entire community would benefit if Bluff businesses paid the Living Wage, “because we spend pretty much all we earn locally”.

National Living Wage Movement Convenor Annie Newman says that the development of regional Living Wage networks is what this broad-based community campaign is all about.

“Good on the Bluff community for kick-starting their fight for decent wages,” Annie says.

“The Living Wage Movement has had many successes across the country and it all comes down to the involvement of workers, their unions, community organisations, and faith groups in speaking out for higher wages.

“The Living Wage network in Bluff will join our wider movement of hundreds of organisations and employers that know that winning the Living Wage starts at the grassroots.

“We are looking forward to the official launch of the Bluff Living Wage network and securing some real wins for the local community and economy.”

All members of the Bluff community are welcome at the next meeting:

29 July, 2pm
Lighthouse Café, Bluff

ENDS

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