Minimum wage to increase by 2%

Minimum wage to increase by 2%
A 45c an hour wage increase. (Image: Getty)
Staff reporters
The government has announced the minimum wage will increase by 45 cents an hour, to $23.15, from April 1.This marks a 2% rise from the current minimum wage of $22.70.Because the cost of living is likely to increase by more than 2% over the next year, the 80,000 to 145,000 Kiwis on the minimum wage will will likely go backwards financially.Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden said the Government was taking a “cautious approach” to changing the minimum wage due to the “headwinds” facing the economy, wi...