SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO?
AN EXTRA $2 AN HOUR COULD MAKE ALL THE difference between New Zealand workers staying with their current employers or leaving…. That’s even though they think that they’re worth $4 more per hour than they’re currently paid!
These are among the findings of a study of NZ industrial and trades wages released in February by temporary and permanent staff supplier OneStaff.
The What’sMyRate?IndustrialandTradesWage Report2020 provides an insight from over 7800 Kiwi wage-earners, into their attitudes, experiences and remuneration.
The report is broken down into four sectors: Manufacturing, production and logistics (including road transport); commercial and hospitality; trades and services; construction and infrastructure (takingin articulated dumptruck, Class 2, 4 and 5 drivers and pilots); and engineering.
The study finds that, despite Statistics NZ reporting that the labour cost index salary and wage rates recently experienced the largest increase since June 2009 – rising 2.6% in the year to the December 2019 quarter – many workers “do not feel that their wage is fair for their role.”
Interestingly, the study found that “the pay gap between those most likely and least likely to resign was around $2 per hour.”
Across all four sectors, not a single median wage was considered fair – in fact, the median “fair” rate, according to respondents, was $28 per hour. That’s $4 higher than the actual median.
Again across all sectors, respondents stated it would cost $5 an hour more than their current rate to lure them to a new role.
Overall, they rated their feelings of pay satisfaction as 2.68 out of 5.
OneStaff CEO Jonathan Ives says of the study: “Our data quantifies the business mantra that it’s cheaper to retain staff than to recruit staff. Respondents have indicated that businesses need to increase wages by around $2 per hour to retain them, versus the $5 per hour that would let another employer attract them.
“It’s a tight job market for many industries, so it’s important for businesses to understand what factors affect each employee’s satisfaction at work and what it takes to retain staff.”
The study found that, contrary to popular belief, earning higher-level tertiary qualifications does not necessarily equate to higher pay in the industrial and trades sectors. The tenure of workers could be affecting this finding, as the report found a distinct correlation between working for longer at a company and earning more.
Thus, respondents with a Master degree, actually earned the least – at $22 an hour – while those with a national certificate qualification earned the most….at $27 an hour. Respondents with a High School Certificate earned $24 an hour.
Pay rates rise with tenure, but plateau after six to 10 years. Says Ives: “This finding will be music to the ears of many industry associations who have been working hard to attract school leavers and overcome stereotypes around vocational careers.
“Those who have achieved diplomas and national certificates, paired with on-the-job training, are likely to have more tenure in a business at a younger age when compared with, for example, a graduate with a Master’s degree.
“The report is clear that people wanting career growth in a vocational job should focus on achieving job-specific certification.”
According to the report, “an overtime culture is rife throughout the sectors surveyed. The degree to which
Kiwis are working over their contractual hours is significant, particularly as only around one-third of those working overtime are compensated.”
The study showed that 59% of respondents said they work either one or more hours of overtime each month, while 29% work one to 10 hours, 25% work 10-40 hours and 4% work 40+ hours overtime per month.
Of those who do work overtime, 66% say they’re not compensated for their extra labour.
Says Ives: “The findings around overtime are quite worrying because, in health and safety-sensitive industries, overtime can potentially be dangerous. Fatigued workers
are more likely to make mistakes with machinery, equipment and vehicles, so any overtime in these industries does need to be addressed and properly managed.”
He urges employers to “strongly consider whether their culture of overtime is healthy for workers or potentially exploitative, given that many employees are either being pushed or are pushing themselves far beyond what should be considered acceptable.”
The study found that, in the manufacturing, production and logistics sector, workers’ median pay increased by $1 an hour last year – “but, at just $23 per hour, remains the second-lowest rate.
“Class 5 truck and trailer drivers, supervisors/team leaders and paint shop/coating applicators typically earn the most ($26 p/h), with stocktakers and runner/drivers’ mates earning the least ($19 p/h).”
Class 2 drivers, improving from $20 to $22 an hour, clocked-up a 10% improvement from the previous year’s hourly rate – with their C4 colleagues up 4.55% from $22 to $23, and C5 drivers’ rate going up from $24 to $26 an hour (an 8.33% increase).
There’s a strong showing of women in this category, up around 5% from 2019, although they still represent a minority of just
17.82%.
This sector also has gone from having one of the lowest to the third-largest gender pay gap, at $4 an hour in favour of men – a $3 increase on last year.
Respondents in this sector stated that a fair rate for their work was $26 p/h, although women said they felt $28 was fair.
In the construction and infrastructure sector, C2 drivers were on the lowest driver rates ($22, up from $20), with C4 drivers earning $23 (up from $22), articulated dumptruck drivers at $24 (was $22) and C5 drivers on $25 (up from $24). Pilot vehicle drivers’ rates jumped from $23.50 to $30 (which, by the way, was the same 2019 rate as diesel mechanics).
In 2020, younger people still make up the majority (52%) of workers in the manufacturing, production and logistics sector, although the number of Baby Boomers has dropped. Last year this sector had the highest proportion of people in this age group, but now it has the largest showing of Gen Xers instead (36.97%).
Workers in the sector have a collective average of seven years’ experience. Their happiness metrics were middling, “with the exception of feelings of satisfaction and value – where they ranked lowest and joint-lowest respectively.”
Despite that they only rated the likelihood that they’d consider new employment at 3.73 out of five, prompting OneStaff to conclude that, “while respondents in this sector are certainly not as happy as they could be (indeed, their results dropped slightly from 2019), this has not driven any noticeable increase in their likelihood of seeking new employment – giving employers a second chance to take action.
“So, what do they value in a job? Much the same as the other sectors: A great team, higher pay and career progression.”
According to the report, a majority (62%) of workers in the sector prefer a manager who leads by example, and who’s also fair/evenhanded (35.69%) and supportive (32.85%).
“Data on overtime is, like the other sectors, not positive.
However, results here are better than in most other categories – 61.95% of respondents report working overtime each month, which is the second-lowest rate in the report….but only one third are paid for their time.
“Supportive managers looking to improve their workers’ feelings of satisfaction and value could look to overtime as a place to start – paying a greater number of employees for their extra hours, especially the 17.93% who work 20+ extra hours per month.” T&D