Sky City pledges to pay workers at least $20 an hour by 2020

Tuesday, 27 March 2018

The $20 minimum wage will lift incomes of staff in Hamilton, Auckland and Queenstown.

SkyCity has pledged to lift its wages to at least $20 an hour by 2020, but denies it has been forced to do so in a bid to keep staff.

The move will lift the take-home pay of 1750 people in Auckland, Hamilton, and Queenstown, the NZX-listed company says.

Chief executive Graeme Stephens said the company had been considering the move for the past 18 months.

It had decided to make the move before being forced to by the Government, which plans to lift the official minimum wage to $20 by 2021.

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In its last financial year to the end of June, SkyCity paid $307 million in wages to staff, and $132m in dividends to shareholders.

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SkyCity said the policy was not motivated by staff retention, though that was likely to improve.

'The hospitality industry across the board, anecdotally, has higher turnover which is often attributed to people considering it a 'job' rather than a 'career',' the company said in a statement.

Graeme Stephens, SkyCity chief executive said moving to a minimum wage of $20 an hour was the right thing to do.

'Alongside the training and career paths we offer, we hope this policy will support our staff to grow sustainable career at SkyCity and to feel happier and more engaged at work each day.

'We considered a range of factors to come to the $20 an hour figure, including public debates over sustainable and the 'living wage', consulting with our employees and their union representatives, government policy, and also looking at what was commercially possible for SkyCity to pay as a business.'

However, the $20 did not include some extra benefits, which take its real value higher, SkyCity said.

'On top of that is the Kiwisaver contribution for those who opt in,' it said.

Staff also got benefits like health and life insurance, subsidised parking, transport, and meals and dry cleaning, it said.

Stephens said: 'We know living in New Zealand is expensive, and that the hospitality industry is generally geared to lower wages.

'We have a commitment and a responsibility to sustainable career paths at SkyCity, and we want our staff to grow their careers with us.'

He said the move made 'good business sense' as it would help lift employee engagement in their work.

'But more importantly, it's just the right thing to do.'