Government must do better on Living Wage commitments

The Labour-led government must deliver on its promises of a Living Wage for all public service workers, the PSA says - as new figures reveal how many workers aren’t paid enough to live decently.

Information released to the PSA shows nearly 1 in 10 staff at the Ministry of Justice are paid below the Living Wage, which PSA National Secretary Glenn Barclay says is very disappointing.

329 Justice staff are paid below $20.55 an hour, most of them administrative staff supporting Court Registry workers.

"Without admin staff, the court system would grind to a halt," Mr Barclay says.

"It’s imperative these workers are paid enough to feed and clothe their families, pay their bills and save for their retirement.

"We expect the Ministry to urgently address this in bargaining, which will begin shortly."

Mr Barclay says PSA research has identified more than 1000 public service employees who are paid below the Living Wage.

The Ministry of Justice and MSD/Oranga Tamariki have the two largest groups.

"In its 2017 manifesto, Labour promised to pay all core public service workers the Living Wage - and extend this to contractors over time," Mr Barclay says.

"We intend to hold them to this promise.

"Under National, public servants had nine years of staffing caps, rising workloads and Bill English rubbishing their contributions to New Zealand.

"That has to change, and we would welcome confirmation the Government intends to follow through on its manifesto commitments."

ENDS

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