Unite Union Renews Call For A Living Wage For All MIQ Workers As NZ’s Largest Hotel Operator Moves To The Living Wage.

Unite Union is calling on all businesses operating in Managed Isolation and Quarantine facilities to guarantee a Living Wage for all their workers. This is in the wake of NZ’s largest hotel operator, Accor, moving to a Living Wage for all their workers.

“We’re thrilled to see the biggest player, Accor, do the right thing and pay all of their hard working MIQ staff the Living Wage [$22.10/hr] that they deserve” says John Crocker, National Secretary at Unite.

“These facilities are under contract to the government. We call on MBIE [Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment] to make the Living Wage a condition of these supply contracts."

“Our MIQ workers are our front line of defence against Covid-19 and they are doing an incredible and brave job. This is in the face of low wages, stringent H&S practices and even stigma from the community. We’re very proud of them and they should be receiving a Living Wage, not minimum wage.”

“Accor have stepped up, and we applaud them for that, and they have also shown it is possible to keep the country safe and pay their workers fairly” says Crocker.

“Most MIQ workers are already on or above the living wage, but the hotel workers weren’t, and many still aren’t. We also call on the other hotel operators of the MIQ facilities to follow Accor’s lead and pay these critical NZ workers what they deserve.”

“Unite is running a petition so the NZ public can also show its appreciation to these workers and urge the government to make the other hotel operators lift their game and wages.”

Petition can reached at this link https://www.together.org.nz/lw4miq

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