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Our 2011 election manifesto - Labour Party

Our 2011 election manifesto - Labour Party

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Wages<br />

Pacific people make up 6 per cent of people on the minimum wage. <strong>Labour</strong> believes that all<br />

New Zealand workers are entitled to a living wage, and the current minimum wage does not<br />

achieve that.<br />

<strong>Labour</strong> will increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour in our first year in<br />

government.<br />

<strong>Labour</strong> is committed to closing the income gap and improving our productivity track record.<br />

<strong>Our</strong> plan will tackle this long-standing problem with a new labour law framework for New<br />

Zealand.<br />

<strong>Labour</strong> will amend the Employment Relations Act 2000 to implement the Industry<br />

Standard Agreements framework, as set out in our Work and Wages policy.<br />

<strong>Labour</strong> will work in collaboration with employers, educational institutions and trade<br />

unions to increase the numbers of Pacific peoples (particularly women) in workplace<br />

training programmes, to provide them with health & safety training and develop their<br />

skills and career pathways.<br />

For further information, see <strong>Labour</strong>‟s Work and Wages policy.<br />

Pacific culture and languages<br />

With each new Pacific generation being born in New Zealand, there is a gradual rise in the<br />

numbers of Pacific people not using Pacific languages. The potential loss of a Pacific<br />

language will have greater ramifications on the maintenance of genealogical connections,<br />

historical links, cultural identity and intellectual property.<br />

<strong>Labour</strong> is committed to preserving and promoting our Pacific languages, culture, traditions,<br />

arts and music. These are part of New Zealand's national identity and reflect our close links<br />

with the Pacific region.<br />

<strong>Labour</strong> will promote the preservation and protection of Pacific languages within New<br />

Zealand through a whole-of-government Pacific Languages Strategy.<br />

<strong>Labour</strong> will reinstate the goals for Pacific literacy, research, and bilingualism in the<br />

Pacific Education Plan (PEP) which were removed by the National Government in<br />

2009.<br />

<strong>Labour</strong> will work with the Pacific community and others to develop a strategy that<br />

gives mana to the five main Pacific languages in New Zealand as community<br />

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