Tauranga City Council adopts living wage for direct employees

Tauranga City Council has agreed to pay all direct council staff the living wage. File photo

Tauranga City Council has adopted a living wage policy for its direct staff.

The move, approved in committee last week, was ratified at a full council meeting today.

To bring any council staff making under the living wage - set for 2018 at $20.55 - up to that level will cost about $28,000 this year. It could be paid for within existing budgets.

The legal minimum wage was $16.50.

Most of the 31 affected workers - about 4.5 per cent of staff - were casual employees. Other staff would not get a corresponding payrise.

The policy does not apply to contractors staff of council-controlled operations Bay Venues, Tourism Bay of Plenty and the Tauranga Art Gallery.

Living wage advocates have welcomed the move for direct staff but had also asked the council to look into how it could extend the policy contractors and employees of other council organisations.

One councillor spoke out against the move though it was not immediately clear how he voted.

Max Mason was recorded as voting for the policy in what appeared to be a unanimous verbal vote, but later said he had been distracted by reading newly-tabled minutes during the discussion and wanted it recorded that he did not support the policy.

He told NZME he had a number of issues with the living wage.

Mason believed the calculation used to set it each year, independent of Government, was a "flawed formula".

One of the flaws was that having one national figure did not account for differences in living expenses between small towns and large cities.

Mason also believed the increasing uptake of living wage policies in big public organisations was disadvantaging small business owners, making it harder for them to attract staff.

"It's deeply unfair to small businesses. A lot of them are on the edge of viability at any time and can't afford to pay anything more."

Councillor Catherine Stewart, who voted against the move in committee, was not at today's meeting due to a delayed flight.

Wellington, Auckland and Christchurch councils all have living wage policies.