Living Wage Whanganui co-ordinator Marion Sanson. Photo / Bevan Conley
Advocates say paying all staff at Whanganui District Council the living wage would cost just a fraction of the salary of its highest-paid employees.
Living Wage Whanganui's submission to the council's annual plan, heard on Wednesday , says 64 council staff are paid just over the minimum wage ($18.90) and
less than the living wage ($21.15).
At that rate "many of the things the rest of us take for granted are not possible", the submission said.
Getting all staff to the living wage would cost the council an extra $105,549, Living Wage Whanganui co-ordinator Marion Sanson said. It was less than a third of the highest-paid staff members' salaries.
The council's June 2019 annual report shows a big pay disparity, with staff at one end toward $400,000 per year but the majority earning less than $60,000 per year, she said.