The Living Wage is a social movement founded in 2011 to combat “in-work poverty.” “People who are trying to get by on very low wages,” says McIntyre.
She said the living wage should calculate the level of income necessary to provide workers and their families with the basic necessities of life so that they can live in dignity and participate as active citizens in society.
“The living wage movement is based on the fundamental belief that all New Zealanders should earn enough to meet their needs, enjoy their lives and participate in society,” she said.
The current living wage in New Zealand is calculated at $27.80 per hour. The original living wage was set at $18.40 per hour in 2012. Updated annually, it was $18.80 in 2014, $19.25 in 2015, $20.20 in 2017, $20.55 in 2018, $21.15 in 2019… and increased each year to the current rate.
The government increased the federal minimum wage by 45 cents to $23.15 an hour on April 1. Paying a worker less than the minimum wage is illegal.
The subsistence level was calculated by the Family Centre Social Policy Research Unit, an independent association of faith groups, community organisations and trade unions.
Businesses and organisations could sign up for Living Wage accreditation. McIntyre said accreditation meant that every worker in the business was paid the Living Wage or more, from the CEO to the cleaner and gardener, and that “no worker was left behind”.
More than 400 businesses employing more than 60,000 people have received Living Wage Certification. Wellington City Council signed this recognition in 2017.
According to McIntyre, companies often found that raising wages to the living wage increased productivity and improved morale, leading to fewer absenteeism.
“There are costs, but there are also benefits,” she said.
“It’s not about putting pressure on companies, but about making sure they step up their efforts where they can.”
McIntyre grew up in the 1950s and 1960s, a time of relative prosperity in New Zealand. She became increasingly socially conscious in the 1970s and served as a trade union delegate in the printing industry until the 1980s.
In the 1990s, she worked for unions and met many low-paid workers, from cleaners to security guards, caregivers and more.
“After the Employment Contracts Act came into force in 1991, when wages began to fall, more and more workers said they could not live on the minimum wage,” she said.
And so began a long career as a trade unionist. In 2015, McIntyre became one of two paid community organisers in the Living Wage Movement Aotearoa New Zealand and retired in 2020 to write the book.
McIntyre, who lives in Paekākāriki, said she was proud of the book, although “part of me would like to sit down and write it again. I think any author would say that. But I’m pleased with the response,” she said.
Ultimately, it is a message of hope and shows how the “power of the people” can bring about change, she said.
Unions Manawatū co-chair Dion Martin said the release of Strength to win was on time.
“The reading is more relevant today than ever,” he said.
The details
Who: Lyndy McIntyre
What: Living Wage Movement – Celebration and Book Signing
Where: Mezzanine, Palmerston North City Library
When: Saturday, August 31, 2:00-3:30 p.m.
