It is with great satisfaction that I note the success of the hospital cleaner’s action in the face of a lockout. They have won a wage increase to a starting wage of $14.75 an hour, which is much more fair for their hard and essential work. It’s an enormous increase, $3, which only shows how much these vulnerable workers have been allowed to lag behind.
More promising still is the expected flow-on increases to pay rates for other low-wage employment. This all makes me much happier. While we are not a wealthy society, we are certainly not a poor one, and the number of people scraping by at the bottom of the wage scale has always been troubling.
Well done to all those involved!
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Just got a text from Cal, who is en route back to Wellington. This makes me very happy indeed. Hurrah.