Putea i te pukoro! Advocate for a living wage says Te Tai Tonga candidate, Mei Reedy-Taare

Tai Tonga candidate, Mei Reedy-Taare is campaigning for the living wage as an immediate step to improve the wellbeing of whānau.

“Living in Wellington, I’ve always been proud of the bold actions of Wellington City Council, who decided back in 2013 to implement a living wage for its employees. The latest vote, at the end of June 2017, supported an Annual Plan to move all directly employed council workers, as well as some contractors to the full New Zealand Living Wage rate of $20.20 an hour on 1 July,” said Mei Reedy-Taare.

“That is fantastic leadership which provides a clear position on wellbeing, and has immediate impact on cleaners, security guards, contractors and contract workers – and most importantly of all their whānau and families who will see the benefit in the faces of their tamariki when kai is no longer an option.”

“I welcome the passionate petition of the Equality Network who marched on Parliament on Tuesday (1 August). The Equality Network is a 37 member strong network who are championing the call for income for all that provides the necessities of life through a Living Wage and fairer income support,” said Ms Reedy-Taare.

“All eyes will be on Otautahi today as the Christchurch City Council considers a range of options in adopting the Living Wage policy. There are about 470 Council staff who are paid less than the living wage: most are casual, part-time or seasonal staff. I will be very interested in hearing what their decision is.”

“The so-called ‘insecure work’ is a particular issue for our young. Workers under the age of 35 years of age are more likely to be engaged in precarious work such as fixed term contract, casual employment and seasonal work.”

‘We also know that the slow growth of the minimum wage has disproportionately affected part-time workers, women, under 25s, Maori, Pasifika, Asian and other ethnic minorities. All of these groups give me every reason to want to shout from the roof-tops, that we must establish a living wage as a basic expectation for every workplace.”

“‘Very low pay puts pressure on our whānau, and disproportionately so on Maori and Pasifika. It takes time away from family life, it places pressure on health and stress on workers because of the long hours they work to earn a liveable income.”

“Putea i te pukoro! We have to care more, stand up, be bold, and speak up about the things that matter. I'm certainly taking this issue on the road with me as one of our election platforms for Te Tai Tonga in 2017,” ended Ms Reedy-Taare.

ENDS

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