![\"ACT](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/mutual-agreement-could-lead-to-end-of-employment-under-propo-Q4TTF372SBAL7BKA2NM4ZQCEEE.png\")
<\/p>\nThe minimum wage would freeze for three years, a training wage for under 20s would be introduced, and personal grievance rules would be tightened under a new ACT small business policy revealed today.<\/p>\n
The minimum wage freeze aimed to help small businesses, the party said, with companies not having to worry about increased payments and hiring issues.<\/p>\n
A training wage would also be introduced for workers under 20, meaning businesses would have the option of paying employees 60% of the minimum wage for up to a year.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
ACT spokesperson for small business Laura McClure. (Source: TVNZ)<\/p>\n
ACT’s small business spokesperson Laura McClure said the proposed changes will alleviate pressures on employers.<\/p>\n
“Annual mandated increases to minimum wage have outpaced productivity,” the party said.<\/p>\n
“For a small business operating on tight margins, it can mean higher prices, fewer hours, reduced hiring, lower investment, or deciding not to create a job in the first place.”<\/p>\n
The minimum wage is currently $23.95. The Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety is required by law to review the minimum wages annually.<\/p>\n
McClure said laws designed to improve pay and conditions “haven’t done the job”.<\/p>\n
“Truly higher wages require businesses that can grow. ACT’s policies will grow productivity so people can genuinely take home more at the end of the week.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor too long, New Zealand politics has been trapped in zero-sum thinking. When a business succeeds, someone else must have lost. When a company makes a profit, politicians look for a way to tax it, regulate it, break it up, or cut it down.”<\/p>\n
Personal grievance rules were also targeted under the proposals, including shortening the length of time personal grievance proceedings needed to be lodges with the Employment Relations Authority. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The minimum wage would freeze for three years, a training wage for under 20s would be introduced, and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":601164,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[28921,138,2917,1122,42,43,135,40,38,41,39,270122],"class_list":["post-601163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-act-party","tag-business","tag-cost-of-living","tag-employment","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-politics","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-vote-2026"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/601163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=601163"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/601163\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/601164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=601163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=601163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=601163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}