The biggest increase in the history of the minimum wage will have a huge impact on workers with low wages, says the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions.

From tomorrow, the minimum wage will rise to $22.70, up from $21.20, affecting 223,000 people.

NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff said a worker on 40 hours a week would benefit by $3,078 a year – or $59 a week. 

“The minimum wage has increased around the same rate as inflation at 7%. This will mean our lowest income families and communities will be better protected from the cost-of-living crisis.”

Wagstaff said raising the minimum wage was a far more effective policy than cutting taxes.

“This increase is 27 times more than a minimum wage worker would get from National’s proposed tax cut of $2.15 a week.”

“This is simply good policy. We have huge numbers of working poor in New Zealand whose lives will be made easier by this change” he said.