The New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services (NZCCSS) joins many others welcoming the passing of the Fair Pay Agreement Bill.

NZCCSS Kaiwhakahaere |Executive Officer Nikki Hurst says that the Bill will mean a real chance for adequate pay for workers, going a long way to addressing decades of underpayment. “Every day NZCCSS’s 230 members across the motu see the impact that low rates of pay cause in families. They also see the impact on people’s wellbeing, feeling so undervalued.”

While the Fair Pay Agreement process outlined will apply to all, NZCCSS is heartened at the clear commitment to begin with some of Aotearoa’s lowest paid, most undervalued workforces – cleaners, supermarket workers, hospitality and others.

“These workforces have been persistently trapped in a race-to-the-bottom, low wage environment since 1991, most subsisting on the lowest bar legally possible – the minimum wage. Advocacy to ensure even a living wage has not worked, and it seems clear that the only way change will occur is through legislation.

“We’re encouraged that the Government is acknowledging the role of workers in the economy. There is a clear reason why Australia holds an enduring attraction economically for New Zealand workers – it’s their rates of pay. Those far higher rates for the same work result from a strong, legislatively empowered workforce.”

Hurst says that while Fair Pay Agreements may take time to roll out, it will be worth the wait. She also observes a real chance to see changes in the need for government subsidies.

“Take, for example, a supermarket worker. We’re now all keenly aware of how essential they are. And yet, while supermarkets continue to make record profits, workers continue to need childcare subsidies, accommodation supplements and high levels of working for families.

“All workers deserve to receive pay that provides them with dignity, not pay that requires them to then rely on the State to meet their whānau’s basic needs. Fair Pay Agreements have the potential to create real change and equity for our national workforce.”

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