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The statutory minimum sick day allowance will double to 10 days and the minimum wage will increase to $ 20 if the Labor Party is re-elected.
But his political opponents have criticized the policy for showing how “out of touch” Labor is with small businesses, which could not afford the additional costs in a recession.
Labor relations and safety spokesman Andrew Little released the election promise yesterday and vowed to make legislative changes to increase sick leave for workers during the party’s first 100 days in office.
The party also pledged to work for pay equity, strengthening labor legislation and establishing Fair Pay Agreements and creating better protection for vulnerable workers.
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Covid-19 had shown how important it was for workers to stay home when sick, and doubling the legal minimum would allow them to do this and give parents flexibility to care for sick children, Little said.
Many employers already gave their staff more than the minimum of five, but low-wage sectors, such as horticulture, were lagging behind, he said.
A cleaner at the National Library, Mareta Sinoti, who was at the announcement of the policy and is a member of the E Tū union, said that five days of sick leave was not enough because “she doesn’t get sick once a year.”
“If we had 10 days of sick leave, I wouldn’t have to worry so much and my family will know that I don’t have to work when I’m sick and that I can stay home and get better.
“If I’m sick and I call the company and they say, ‘No sick leave,’ that means leaving without pay, how can I survive with my family?”
Additionally, more than 85,000 Kiwis could receive a pay raise, with job planning to raise New Zealand’s minimum wage.
During the first term of the coalition government, it rose from $ 15.75 to $ 18.90. If he’s re-elected, Labor plans to increase it to $ 20 an hour in 2021.
Little said it is “time to leave New Zealand’s low-wage culture behind.”
“Investing in our people should be a key part of our economic recovery from Covid-19. We want a highly skilled and productive workforce where everyone shares in the benefits of economic growth.”
The Green Party supported the policy and has also committed to making the minimum 10-day sick leave allowance.
National leader Judith Collins said the duo of raising the minimum wage and sick leave rights showed “how disconnected” Labor was from small businesses, which would be “paralyzed.”
“This policy is an outdated approach to dictating employment conditions that does not reflect modern and flexible work practices.”
“It will only make it harder for workers to keep their jobs.”
Law enforcement leader David Seymour said Labor “is not just breaking the hen that lays the eggs, they are twisting their necks” on labor policy.
But Little said that small businesses cannot afford another lockdown and supporting people to stay home if they are sick would help avoid it.
The work would also legislate for companies to report on wage equity so that the remuneration of the sectors is more transparent in all genders, ages and ethnic groups. This can be done anonymously, he said.
He also wants to implement Fair Pay Agreements, establish minimum terms and conditions of employment for all workers in an industry or occupation, and ensure that dependent contractors can collectively bargain and enforce employment contracts.
It also plans to recognize security guards as vulnerable workers and raise the age for workers authorized to perform hazardous work from 15 to 16 years.
Labor also plans to strengthen the Labor Relations Law to make it more difficult to undermine collective bargaining.
“Workers play a key role in getting our economy moving. We cannot grow successful businesses without a strong and prosperous workforce,” Little said.
