Kiwis deserve fair pay

“Hard-working New Zealanders deserve to earn a living wage for an honest day’s work,” says the Labour MP, David Clark.

His members’ bill to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour was drawn from the ballot today, meaning MPs will debate the issue later this year.

It’s David Clark’s second bill to be selected from the ballot.  Parliament yesterday voted in favour of the first reading of his legalisation to ensure workers get a public holiday on a Monday following the commemoration of Anzac Day and Waitangi Day when they fall on a weekend.

“I don’t know anyone who thinks they could raise a family on $15 an hour. If you are working a 40-hour week you should be able to pay the bills and put dinner on the table.”

The minimum wage is currently $13.50 an hour, and David Clark says increasing it to $15 will help thousands of working families make ends meet.

“There is too much inequality in New Zealand. Poverty is destroying lives and wasting the opportunity to get the best out of our people.”

“Kiwi workers are worth more than $13.50 an hour. New Zealand can’t just be a low-wage economy.  We must do better than that.”