Australian immigrant TPPA

# New Zealand Immigration # Introduction Many people in China will choose to work in New Zealand and then immigrate. Wages are very important for migrant workers, so what is the minimum wage in New Zealand? This must be a concern of many immigrants. Let's learn about the minimum wage in New Zealand. Welcome to reading.

New Zealand minimum wage standard

The new government announced that the minimum wage will be raised to 16.5 NZD/hour next year, and to NZD 20/hour in April 2026, 5438+0. People speculate whether this will lead us to a glorious workers' paradise or bring the economy to a standstill.

According to the latest minimum wage review report, about 73,000 workers (or 2.9%) are at the minimum wage level, but the fact is that the government's plan may not be a victory or a disaster for them. Risks and benefits coexist, some people and companies will make adjustments, and some people will not; But perhaps most importantly, the winners and losers of change may come from the same group in society. To understand why, let's first discuss the boring labor economics.

In life, everyone should be treated fairly, including a decent standard of living and the opportunity to participate in society, because we all have equal dignity and value, but we know that not everyone has equal opportunities or the ability to make money, so we set a minimum wage, so that at least everyone can have the lowest income. We also know that this kind of income must come from somewhere, usually paid employment, so when we set the minimum wage standard, we will try our best to ensure that it will not have a negative impact on the prospects of employers who create employment opportunities, especially those who create minimum wage jobs.

According to the review, people engaged in these jobs are more likely to be young people, women, unqualified people and a disproportionate number of Maori, and these workers are more likely to work in retail or hotel industry. Obviously, if the minimum wage is raised, their income will be better. In fact, this is only on the one hand, and on the other hand, they are more likely to experience any negative impact caused by the rise in the minimum wage level.

Let's start with an obvious fact that doesn't need much explanation-if the minimum wage is raised, these 73,000 workers will become winners.

However, the gains may not be as much as you think. Imagine a couple with two children working 60 hours a week at the minimum wage. They will earn money from their work, and they will also get paid from their home work. According to the review of the minimum wage, raising the minimum wage by 3.3% will only increase their total income by 65,438+0.83%, because their working families will be deducted with the increase of employment income.

If employers think that salary increase means that the input and output of minimum wage jobs are inconsistent, then the workers in these jobs may be ignored, their working hours may be shortened, and even they may lose their jobs. Similarly, if employers think it is not worth creating a job with a minimum wage, then workers who want to get a similar job may never have a chance.

On the contrary, employers may decide to spend money only on employees who are more skilled and productive, or they may decide to invest in automation instead of employees. If these choices improve the productivity of enterprises, then these employers will be unexpected winners under the policy. However, if employers do not choose automated or highly skilled employees, then they must bear the extra costs, pass them on to customers, or cut services to some extent, then in this case, employers or customers are the losers under the policy.

In the last review, MBIE thought that 3.3% growth would only limit 65,438+0,500 jobs, but 8.2% growth would affect 7,000 jobs. However, if the minimum wage increases in a stable, small-scale and regular way, then the unemployment risk we described is unlikely to occur.

The government has not told us how it plans to gradually reach NZ $20 per hour, but if we assume that the annual growth rate will be 4-7% in the next four years, MBIE's estimate gives us a general idea of the potential impact of minimum wage growth on employment and income. However, these estimates depend largely on other factors in the economy-if the economic situation is good, then we can easily maintain higher growth without unemployment. However, what should we do if we encounter another major earthquake, or the TPPA renegotiation results are not good, or protectionism appears in major export markets? If the economy begins to decline and the government maintains a minimum wage of NZ $20, the risk of loss will become more real and more employment opportunities will be affected.

Perhaps in view of this, the government indicated that it would consider taking measures (such as reducing the corporate tax rate) to help small and medium-sized enterprises pay higher wages, thus raising the minimum wage level. However, there is still a long way to go.

Of course, paying attention to employers and unemployment is only one aspect. Put yourself in the position of a person who tries to maintain the minimum wage. We all know that we will welcome the extra income brought by the salary increase.

Now that the economy is very strong, raising the minimum wage will not cause great unemployment risk. However, if the economic situation changes dramatically and the risk of unemployment increases, I believe everyone wants to know whether the government will achieve a minimum wage of S $20/hour, and time will tell.