NZCTU opposes ACT Party proposals to cut pay for young workers

The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU) is urging political parties to reject a proposal by the ACT Party that would reduce pay for workers under the age of 20. The proposed training wage would allow employers to pay young workers 60 percent of the adult minimum wage for their first 12 months with any employer.

According to the NZCTU, this change would drop the bottom rate for young workers from $19.16 to $14.37 per hour. NZCTU President Sandra Grey stated that the rate is “nowhere near enough to live on” and criticized the plan for potentially allowing young people to have their wages reset every time they change jobs.

Additionally, ACT has proposed a three-year freeze on the minimum wage. The NZCTU warns that such a freeze, combined with inflation, could leave full-time minimum wage workers significantly worse off by 2029. The union noted that the minimum wage is already 20 percent below the Living Wage.