The Government has delivered on its election promise with the passing of the Fair Pay Agreements Bill through Parliament, announced Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Wood on Wednesday.
“At the heart of the Government’s economic recovery plan is people. We know when we invest in New Zealanders, they have greater opportunities to prosper, provide for their families, and contribute to our nation’s success and ongoing economic security,” said Wood.
“Fair Pay Agreements have long been one part of our wider work programme focused on lifting the wages of those on low to medium incomes – ensuring better wages for employees is even more essential now as we tackle global headwinds.”
The Restaurant Association (RA), however, noted that the timing could not be worse for an industry already under enormous pressure.
Regardless of timing, RA CEO, Marisa Bidois said the underlying principles of the Fair Pay Agreements bill warrant interrogation, starting with nomenclature which puts anyone arguing against it at a distinct disadvantage.
“After all, who could be seen to be arguing against fair pay? But that is not what we are doing by any means. Instead, the Association and our members have always believed it is essential that pay packets are accurately matched to value added by the individual employee,” she said.
Bidois said profit margins in the hospitality industry are deceptively low, with an average between just 4-7 percent.
“There isn’t a lot of wiggle-room there. Inflation is already heavily impacting input costs. This already puts margins under pressure. Our sector is being pushed to the brink with compounding compliance costs, difficulty in finding staff, and restrictive immigration policy which has made it hard to bring workers in.”
On the other hand, Wood explained that the government was ending New Zealand’s 30-year failed experiment with a low-cost labour model. Over this period, many workers, have suffered through a ‘race to the bottom’, but, equally, our rates of labour productivity have been amongst the worst in the world.
“The Fair Pay Agreements Bill will improve employment conditions, by enabling employers and employees to bargain collectively for industry or occupation-wide minimum employment terms. By increasing bargaining co-ordination to agree minimum employment terms within a sector, outcomes for vulnerable employees will be improved and we will see growth in the incomes of New Zealand employees.
“This is especially the case for Māori, Pacific peoples, young people, and people with disabilities, who are over-represented in occupations which will benefit from a Fair Pay Agreement.”
Bidios concluded that the Association disagrees with the Fair Pay Agreements (FPA).
“We want to ensure that it is clear, however, that the Association supports fair working conditions and as the representing body of most of the Restaurants and Cafés in New Zealand we provide support for our members in achieving this.
“We currently operate in an environment with extremely robust minimum standards in place, that provides wide-ranging protection for employees. Low unemployment and minimum wage levels already provide incentive for employers to put their best foot forward with regards to pay and conditions.”
