So, there’s a recession on and those of us with jobs are damned lucky just to be working?

There are many reasons why wages must continue to rise. Here are just a few:

1. Wage increases help the economy more than tax cuts (especially if, like recent tax cuts, the majority of money goes to the well-off);
2. Inflation may be falling, but the price of basic essentials like food and housing are still high;
3. The Government wants NZ wages to be on a level with Australia’s by 2025. To achieve this, New Zealand will need wage rises of around 4.8% per year over the next 15 years;
4. What you get paid matters as much to you as the price of goods matters to exporters, retailers, and farmers. It’s important to still have a job, but what you get paid for it matters too;
5. This recession was not caused by wages being too high.

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