She Works Hard For The Money
The government’s proposal to scrap the Living Wage.
She works hard for the money
So hard for it, honey
She works hard for the money
So you better treat her right
Songwriters: Michael Omartian / Donna A. Summer
Morena, I’m pleased to bring you a guest newsletter today by long-time unionist and community activist Lyndy McIntyre.
Lyndy has been active in the Living Wage Movement since its inception and last year published Power to Win, the story of the movement in Aotearoa. You might recall the following newsletter from last July, shortly before the launch of that book:
A couple of weeks ago, as we were being distracted by the daily serving of dead cats landing in our doom scrolling, the Finance Minister, Nicola Willis, issued a Press Release titled Going For Growth: New Procurement rules.
Under the new rules, the government is planning to remove requirements for government agencies to:
build new non-residential government buildings to a five-star rating standard
purchase battery electric or hybrid electric vehicles
purchase office supplies that produce low amounts of waste and/or are recyclable; and
pay the living wage in contracts for cleaning, catering and security guard services
Yes, in the interests of the economy, Temu Liz Truss has decided that paying some of our lowest-paid workers even less will stimulate growth. No one ever accused her of being good at this.
Willis is prepared to make the tough decisions, and if that means lower quality buildings, using more fossil fuels, creating more waste, and sacrificing the most basic of rights—that of a hard-working person in Aotearoa to earn enough to do more than merely survive—then she is willing to do so.
As you might imagine, those who have worked so hard to achieve a Living Wage, like our friend Lyndy, have something to say about this. So, let’s hear from her…
They work hard for their money, by Lyndy McIntyre
When Living Wage Movement Aotearoa NZ was launched at St Stephen’s church hall in Jervois Road, Auckland on 23 May 2012, it felt like something of a revolution.
Crammed into the hall together was a crowd of vastly different people — from faith groups, unions and community organisations — united by their commitment to build a long-term alliance to fight poverty pay. There were moving stories from some of Auckland’s lowest-paid workers. There was singing and dancing, with the Reverend Mua Strickson-Pua, AKA ‘the Rapping Reverend’, leading a foot-stomping version of She Works Hard for the Money by Donna Summer. The time had come to build community power around lifting low wages.
And it worked. Over the years the Living Wage Movement has mobilised New Zealanders in campaigns that have won the Living Wage for thousands of workers — in small businesses and NGOs, in wealthy corporates and across local and central government.
In each campaign, no worker was left behind. The invisible workers, those employed by contractors, were always included. These workers, typically cleaners, security guards and kitchen and catering workers, are out of sight and out of mind, caught in the race to the bottom in the world of contracting, that is based on tendering on the lowest possible wage bill.
The Living Wage Movement put pressure on successive governments to show leadership and lift the low wages of these workers employed via contractors to deliver government services. That people power worked. In 2017 parliamentary cleaners, security guards and catering workers celebrated the announcement that their pay rate would move to the Living Wage. In 2020 it was time for MSD security guards to celebrate. Increasingly contracted workers in the core public service were moved to the Living Wage and, during the last term, the government inserted a requirement to pay the Living Wage to contracted cleaners, security guards and catering workers in government’s procurement contracts in the core public service.
There is no doubt this is life-changing. The current Living Wage is $4.65 higher than the minimum wage. The Living Wage is not a luxury rate, but for workers at the margins, who need every cent, this makes all the difference.
Now Nicola Willis wants to scrap the requirement to pay the Living Wage in government contracts. Pushing the ‘Going For Growth’ mantra, she says removing ‘unnecessary obstacles in the path of Kiwi businesses’ like the Living Wage requirement will increase jobs and incomes.
Not for workers like Liam, interviewed by Radio New Zealand and Mele, whose story featured in the Spinoff. The losers would be the thousands of essential workers like the all-night cleaners in government departments and security guards stationed outside WINZ offices around the country.
The fight’s on to stop this lunacy. This is our workforce, paid for by taxpayers. These are our essential workers, who work hard for their money.
The Living Wage Movement is calling on supporters across the community to stand with workers like Liam and Mele and oppose the proposal to remove the requirement to pay the Living Wage in government procurement.
Let’s call on government to set an example as a good employer by paying the Living Wage. Far from creating more jobs and growth, removing the Living Wage would be bad for the workers, communities and the economy.
Paying the Living Wage is good for workers, enabling them to live in dignity and to participate in society. Low-paid workers spend all their incomes in local economies. That’s good for communities, and lowering their wages will affect everyone.
Setting the Living Wage as a requirement in procurement removes the race-to-the-bottom with contractors competing on wages. It forces contractors to compete around lower profits, lower overheads and innovation, which is good for everyone.
MBIE is taking submissions now on the government’s proposal to scrap the Living Wage.
You can submit on the Living Wage Movement’s form here or email a submission to MBIE at nzgprulesreview@mbie.govt.nz. Submissions close on 8 April.
We can win this fight. These are our workers. Let’s treat them right.
She Works Hard For the Money
I find the idea that we should stop paying people like cleaners and security guards a Living Wage utterly repugnant. You can’t build a better Aotearoa on subsistence wages, and taking money from those with the least is a stupid way to achieve growth—people on low incomes spend every cent they have by necessity.
Thanks very much to Lyndy for her work and her words. I’ll certainly be submitting, and if you think our government ought to be leading by example on the Living Wage, I’d encourage you to do so, too.
Have a great day, all you lovely people. You’re most welcome to share this newsletter. The offer below is a 20% discount on a subscription to Nick’s Kōrero, but if that’s unaffordable and you’d like to be able to read my work, please contact me at nrockel@gmail.com, and we’ll sort something out. 🙂
It amazes me, but also disgusts me, that those sneering about how parents should 'feed their own kids' refuse to acknowledge that their parents are being exploited by employers and huge rents extorted by landlords. In what moral universe is any of this 'good for business'? Can't wait till this Temu government [thanks for the analogy Nick 😆] is gone forever.
Having worked as a cleaner for a company called Crothalls during my Teacher Training student years, I find Willis's recommendation of scrapping the Living Wage repugnant and inhumane. Here is an incompetent Finance Minister who has deliberately tanked our economy sacrificing vulnerable people on low wages. To see Learning Support teachers receive the Living Wage increases was an important step in our country. It cannot be scrapped.