MANA says minimum wage rise is nowhere near enough – Minto

Posted on February 24, 2014 by admin in John Minto, Press Releases

“It’s nowhere near enough for a full-time worker to live on”, said John Minto, MANA Co Vice-President in response to the government’s announcement to raise the minimum wage to $14.25 an hour.

A staggering 40% of families in poverty are those where at least one parent is in full-time work. There is no clearer picture that wages at the bottom end need a much bigger boost than a measly 50c an hour.

“A living wage is where we should be heading with some urgency – not consigning minimum wage earners to the line at the food bank every week to feed their families.

MANA’s supports an immediate rise to $15 an hour, and is promoting the need to index the minimum wage to 66% of the average wage as superannuation is. It would set the minimum wage at around the same rate as the “Living Wage” which has been calculated at $18.60 an hour.

ENDS

For further information, please contact John Minto (022) 085-0161