New Zealand's lowest-paid workers will get a boost to their pay package in April.
The minimum wage for adults will go up from $NZ14.25 per hour to $NZ14.75 per hour from April 1, while the starting-out and training hourly minimum wages go up to $NZ11.80, a rise of NZ40 cents per hour.
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Woodhouse says the government has taken great care in setting the rates to ensure the lowest paid workers are protected while ensuring jobs are not lost.
"A higher increase to even $NZ15.50 would constrain employment growth by up to 5,000 jobs per year," he argued.
Mr Woodhouse said the NZ50 cent rise was a 3.5 per cent increase, well above the inflation rate of 0.8 per cent, and it would directly benefit 115,000 people and increase wages throughout the economy by $NZ60 million ($A57.37 million) a year.
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