In the past year, union members in New Zealand have achieved pay increases above the rate of inflation while non-unionised workers have seen their pay drop in real terms according to new statistics. Employers usually pass on union negotiated increases to non-union workers - so these figures show that the more unionised a workplace is the better off all of its workers will be.

The majority of workers (52%) got no increase, however it was almost entirely non- unionised workers who didn’t get pay rises. Nearly all non-union workers got an effective pay cut – 50% got 2% less than inflation, a few did even worse.

Nearly all union members got a pay rise above inflation – 50% got 1-3% above inflation, 25% got more than that. These figures show the direct benefit of union membership, and that together we are able to protect ourselves from pay cuts even in the midst of a recession. Belonging to a union is crucial to achieving pay increases ahead of inflation.

From FINSEC Update - www.finsec.org.nz
Analysis of Labour Cost Index statistics from www.thestandard.org.nz