It’s Time for the University of Otago to Become an Accredited Living Wage Employer

An Open Letter to the Vice-Chancellor

We, the undersigned, are calling on Vice-Chancellor Hon Grant Robertson to ensure the University of Otago Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka becomes an Accredited Living Wage Employer.

This would ensure all directly employed and contracted workers receive the Living Wage of $29.90 an hour from 1 September, and the Living Wage rate each year thereafter. Workers at the University would be valued for their contribution, and, as a worker at our world-class institution, be able to live with dignity. Currently, many of the essential staff who enable the institution to function are not paid a Living Wage.

“For the many of us who are both staff and students, the dignity of a living wage would mean we can better balance the demands of study, the need to work, and the hope of living a joyful and fulfilling life. 

I know it must be even more difficult for my colleagues who don’t receive the (small) help of a student loan but work full time without our University paying them enough money to live on.” 

-Cora Scott, University of Otago working student

"I’ve worked as a cleaner at one of the university’s halls of residence for 27 years, and I still don’t earn a Living Wage.What’s kept me here all these years is the students. I get to know them, and I take pride in keeping their home clean and comfortable during what is often their first time away from home. They appreciate what I do.

I’m getting closer to retirement age, and it’s daunting with the cost of living so high. A Living Wage would allow me to put a little more aside for the future instead of having to scrimp and save just to get by each week. Most importantly, it would mean it’s not only the students who value my work. It would show that the university recognises my contribution too.” 

- Judith, University of Otago Cleaner

The Living Wage would mean University staff, students and alumni can take pride in Otago for stepping up and ensuring that essential workers are valued for their important contribution to the institution.

"A living wage is about respect and dignity. Those who must work for a living deserve to be able to do at least just that - live off the work that they do." 

-Professor Andrew Geddis, Faculty of Law

The University of Otago is Dunedin’s largest employer; becoming a Living Wage Employer will champion the Living Wage in the Otago region and support the local economy by putting money in workers’ pockets, which they can spend in the city and help create a flourishing Dunedin more free of economic desperation, as well as supporting the communities across the country where the University of Otago operates.

“A living wage isn't a luxury, it is the minimum that every worker deserves: money enough to cover the cost of living.

Any large employer should have a living wage accreditation. If you cannot pay your workers a living wage, then your business is not viable. If you will not pay your workers a living wage, then you are exploiting your workers.

Crucially, you cannot offer a living wage to some of your workers but not all; You cannot acknowledge that the living wage is a just wage, and then assert that some of your workers don't deserve it.”

-Cr Mickey Treadwell

It’s time for the Otago Whakaihu Waka to live up to its name as “a place of many firsts” and become the first university to commit to becoming an Accredited Living Wage Employer.

He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata! He tangata! He tangata!