Local Focus: Workers versus employers - Napier election candidates give their verdict

Paying staff the living wage is the path to prosperity, Napier Green candidate James Crow says.

"I'm a living wage employer myself. My company's always have been, and I believe we can do that," he says. "Because if you can pay your staff well, if you can take care of them at a financial level, they'll repay you as a business."

Crow makes the statement in this Local Focus video in which Napier candidates are asked which is more important: workers or employers?

New Conservative candidate Deborah Burnside says they are equally important.

"I'm an employer and I've been an employee," she said. "We have a huge number of people who are just like me, small business employers creating meaningful work for others. And they're equally as important to supporting New Zealand and our country."

National candidate Katie Nimon says businesses are being prevented from growing and hiring more people.

"Businesses are really highly regulated and these regulations stop businesses wanting to grow," she says. "Because you grow and you get into the next bracket, you might have to pay more tax, or you're heavily monitored by WorkSafe."

Labour candidate and sitting MP Stuart Nash says both workers and employers are important.

While ACT candidate Judy Kendall says employers and workers go 'hand-in-hand".

• John Smith and Ian Gaskin are also standing in the Napier electorate as independents.

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