Massey to pay living wage

Massey University will likely be next to follow The Warehouse by offering its workers a "living wage", making it the the first tertiary establishment in New Zealand to take up the challenge.

Spokesman James Gardiner said the university would meet tertiary union representatives at the pay negotiations table with an offer to match the "living wage" for workers.

The Tertiary Education Union this week called for a pay rise for Massey staff to bring their wages in line with that of The Warehouse, which recently announced longer-serving staff would get the living wage.

The Living Wage Campaign has championed a minimum hourly wage of $18.40.

Massey was set to take that challenge on board for most staff but it would not happen overnight, Mr Gardiner said.

"The vast majority of Massey employees . . . are paid in excess of $18.40 an hour. A significant number of those not currently paid that much can expect to be within a relatively short space of time under the terms of their employment agreements."

TEU Manawatu branch representative Dean Scott said some lower-paid workers at the university received minimum pay rates of more than $5 a hour below that amount.

That was not correct as it did not take into account the adult minimum wage increase last year to $13.75, which happened after the last round of pay negotiations, and was met by the university, Mr Gardiner said.

However, not everyone at the university would get a pay rise, including casual workers - often students in training, work experience, or internship-type roles, staff who were provided accommodation as part of their role at Massey.