Wages must rise to stay ahead of costs and close pay gap with Australia

The Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU) says pressure for higher wages will continue following today's announcement that annual wage growth is 1.6% when inflation is set to rise above 4% next year.

"Union members are getting an average 3% wage rise this year which is well above the national average annual pay rise of 1.6% reported in the labour cost index today," says EPMU national secretary Andrew Little .

“The truth is the only thing keeping upward pressure on wages is union collective bargaining,” he says.

“And we need that pressure if we are to have any hope of catching up with Australia .”

“It’s great that this year EPMU members got a 30% pay increase from Maersk in Taranaki, a 6% increase from Vector in Taranaki, and around 2,000 workers covered by the ‘Metals’ collective agreement got a 3% increase.”

"Getting a higher wage rise is even more important at a time when consumer prices keep rising and the government is hiking GST."

"Increasing pay is also a better way to close the wage gap with Australia than fiddling with the tax system."

"Every time our members fill up their supermarket trolleys or their cars they're feeling the pinch and the only answer to that is to ensure that they're getting high enough wages to keep ahead of the game.”

"It also needs to be recognised that without strong work rights Kiwi workers would not have the tools to win the pay rises they need and that any reduction in these rights will only make it harder for workers and their families to get by."

The EPMU is New Zealand ’s largest private sector union, representing around 45,000 members.

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