Rich list shows disparity between workers and business-owners: Union

Rod Drury pictured talking at the Hawke's Bay Opera House.

KEY POINTS:

• Hawke's Bay represented on NBR Rich List.

The National Business Review's annual Rich List highlights the gulf between supermarket owners and their workers, the retail workers union says.

For the first time, the combined value of the rich listers listed in NBR's annual list has tipped over the $100 billion mark - up 26 per cent from last year's list.

FIRST Union represents retail workers, and negotiates for workers' wages and conditions in supermarkets.

A spokesman said the "other side of this story" was not such a happy one.

A Glen Innes Pak'nSave owner, worth an estimated $65m, was paying one of the lowest rates as far as collective agreements go in Auckland supermarkets, FIRST Union's Mandeep Bela said.

The union is in the process of bargaining at Hastings Pak'nSave where workers recently resorted to strike action. At mediation, the owner offered a 0 per cent pay rise for the 2018 year, Bela said.

Bela said inequality was a problem for New Zealand and "enough is enough".

"When we have supermarket owners banking some of the largest profits while paying staff some of the lowest wages in the country it just doesn't make sense. How have we got to this?"

The Havelock North-based Drury Family (including Xero founder Rod Drury) was the highest Hawke's Bay entry.

NBR assessed the family assets to be worth $1000m, placing the family at 12th on the list, still far below New Zealand's richest man, Aucklander Graeme Hart.

Hart was worth $9 billion.

Other rich-listers from Hawke's Bay included the Cushing Family (worth $235m) - headed by Sir Selwyn Cushing.

Sir Selwyn Cushing.

Conservationist and managing director of the Lowe Corporation Andy Lowe was listed as being worth $200m, while wine pioneers Sir George Fistonich ($170m), Sir Graeme Avery ($160m) also made the list, along with developer Jonathan Wallace ($140m) and meat works owners Craig and Penny Hickson ($75m).

Sir Graeme Avery.