The Public Service Association says industrial relations policies announced by Labour today will, if implemented by a Labour-led government, make New Zealand a fairer and better place to live.

"Under the Labour-led government of the past three years, we've seen significant progress toward fair pay and improved conditions for many workers in both the public and private sectors. There are still too many New Zealanders who endure low wages and discrimination at work, but the policies announced by Andrew Little today can help us change that," says PSA National Secretary Kerry Davies.

"All workers deserve the right to collectively bargain and improve their lives, and we strongly support Labour’s commitment to ensuring dependent contractors can do so as well."

The union has been campaigning alongside the Human Rights Commission for greater pay transparency, and Labour’s promise action on this front will help challenge gender and ethnic pay gaps.

Many of Labour’s policies align well with the PSA’s call for universal basic services as part of an Aotearoa Wellbeing Commitment.

"Labour campaigned three years ago on a platform of implementing Fair Pay Agreements, and we are pleased to see an ongoing commitment to this policy. Setting consistent standards of pay and conditions across the country will end the race to the bottom some workers are trapped in," says Ms Davies.

"Workers in sectors like home support and local government can be paid very different amounts from one region to the next, and we don’t think that’s necessary or fair."

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