Govt agrees $2 bln pay equity package for aged and residential care workers

Govt agrees $2 bln pay equity package for aged and residential care workers
Rebecca Howard
By Pattrick Smellie April 18 (BusinessDesk) - The government will implement a historic pay equity pay deal for aged and residential care workers worth $2.05 billion of extra pay for some 55,000 people – close to 2 percent of the total New Zealand workforce.  Prime Minister Bill English and Health Minister Jonathan Coleman announced the deal, which will bring some 20,000 workers on the minimum wage of $15.75 an hour to a wage of $19 an hour.  That represented a 21 percent increase worth $106 per week before tax, and $5,511 per year. ...