In the red corner
When my grandfather returned from World War II he worked hard seasonal jobs – fencing, shearing, freezingworks. He had been a pilot and an aeronautical engineer but the war haunted him and in his later years he found it hard to work at all.
During those hard times, my grandmother was my family’s income insurance. Naturally gifted with mathematics, she became a teacher and a bookkeeper to keep the household finances going. But in two generations, rising living costs have dramatically altered household labour participation. Now households may even need four working adults to make endsmeet.
The reality is thatworking families no longer have the safety net my grandmother’s ability to earn extrawages provided. If a parent loses their income, economic security can disappear overnight.
That’s why we have proposed an income insurance scheme that would see workers made redundant, laid off, or who have to stop working because of a health condition or disability, receive 80 per cent of their usual salary for up to seven months, up to the current ACC cap.
A job loss often results in a significant income shock that can affect the wellbeing of an entire family, even when a person finds newwork. That’s because finding a good job takes time. Many people accept lower-paid jobs that don’t match their skillset because of financial pressure.
This scheme would give people the time and financial security to find a good, new job that matches their skills or to rehabilitate or retrain. With a tight labour market and demand for skilled workers, it is in the best interests of workers and businesses that people are employed in areas that make the greatest use of their skills.
For me, a story that my colleague Minister Carmel Sepuloni shared about a West Auckland woman who she met years ago, highlightswhy the inclusion of health conditions and disability in the proposal was an absolute must. The woman was a mumwith young children, worked as an ECE teacher and had been diagnosed with cancer. Throughout her treatments she continuedworking – for financial reasons. Sadly, she passed away.
Taking time away from work for serious medical reasons should not be a luxury that only some can afford. No family should be left questioning if things could have been different.
However, the scheme is not a done deal. So please let us know your thoughts: mbie. govt.nz/incomeinsurance.