Filipinos in New Zealand to benefit from general wage hike

New Zealand bills (Stock photo by Jan Mika via INQUIRER.net)

Filipinos in New Zealand will be among those who will receive an increase in their monthly pay after the country’s Workplace Relations and Safety Ministry announced the hike in the minimum wage of workers there.

The hike of 50 New Zealand cents will raise the hourly minimum wage from NZ$15.25 to NZ$15.75, or P17.51 per hour.

This was detailed in a report of labor attaché Rodolfo Sabulao of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Canberra to Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III.

New Zealand Minister Michael Woodhouse announced the wage hike, which takes effect this April.

Sabulao also reported that there would be hike in the starting-out and training minimum wage rates from NZ$12.20 to NZ$12.60 per hour, which is 80 percent of the minimum wage.

According to POLO data, there are 44,385 Filipinos in New Zealand, most of whom are permanent migrants, permanent residents, or have acquired New Zealand citizenship.

In New Zealand, starting-out wages applies to workers aged 16 and 17 who have not done six months of continuous employment service with their current employer.

This includes those aged 18 and 19, who have been paid one or more social security benefits for six months or more, and who have not completed six months’ continuous employment with an employer.

The training minimum wage applies to employees aged 20 and above whose employment agreement states that they have to do at least 60 credits a year of an industry training program to become qualified in the area they are working in.

The new minimum wage applies to all hours worked regardless of the workers’ status in New Zealand.

An employee who works for only two hours will still be entitled to a wage increase for every hour worked, unless the worker and employer have agreed to a higher rate in the employment agreement. /atm