New Zealand tourism industry backs sustainable employment

Tourism operators need to embrace the increase in the minimum wage and strive to be employers of choice, says Tourism Industry Aotearoa Chief Executive Chris Roberts.

With the minimum wage to rise from $15.75 to $16.50 as of Sunday 1st April, Roberts sees that “our industry needs to be committed to providing sustainable employment to its staff, and paying workers fairly is part of this.”

Tourism Industry Aotearoa (TIA) is encouraging its members to sign up for the New Zealand Tourism Sustainability Commitment, a programme TIA launched late last year whereby members commit to making their business sustainable by achieving targets across four key areas of sustainability—Economic, Visitor, Host Community and Environmental.

Roberts states “the New Zealand Tourism Sustainability Commitment includes a business-level commitment to pay a fair wage to all staff. Meeting this commitment will help businesses achieve Host Community Sustainability by providing quality employment. In turn, it will help the wider industry achieve sustainability by ensuring that tourism businesses are seen as desirable and responsible employers.

“We need to attract quality, skilled people to work in the tourism industry, so we must offer appropriate wages and attractive conditions. This includes striving to offer permanent positions and training opportunities.”

The NewZealand Government plans to raise the minimum wage to $20 an hour by 2021.

Roberts adds “the Government is giving employers plenty of notice that the minimum wage will increase so businesses can start preparing now for any wage rises that will be required. SKYCITY has shown the way in their announcement this week that they will beat the Government’s timeline for $20 an hour by a year.

“Treating staff fairly is all part of running a sustainable business.” 

Image: TIA's Chris Roberts.

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