Wellingtonians are earning tens of thousands of dollars more than Aucklanders in most professions - but highly paid Queen City bankers are skewing the trend.

Economists are right when they say that people respond to incentives, and teachers are no different, but the responses aren't always the ones we'd want.

When Affco locked out 120 union members at Horotiu, meatworker Drew Fletcher was one of the unlucky ones. He says the hardest thing about being locked out this Easter is the effect on his children.

More than $2 million was paid out last year to departing public chief executives - with one boss taking away a parting package close to $350,000.