Unions ask for $12 minimum

The Council of Trade Unions is marking Labour Day today with a new push to increase the minimum wage.

The CTU is demanding the immediate raising of the adult minimum wage from $10.25 to $12.

"The 40-hour working week which was fought so hard for is not a reality for many low-income workers," CTU secretary Carol Beaumont said.

"Years of rising economic growth and people working longer and longer hours have failed to deliver a fair deal for all. A fair minimum wage is one that is set at two-thirds of the average wage ... In the meantime, we need a $12 minimum wage now, not in 2008, and an end to youth rates."

Ms Beaumont said the CTU acknowledged the Labour-led Government had increased the minimum wage by 46 per cent since 1999 "in stark contrast to the National Party freezing it at $7 during its last years in office".

- NZPA