14 January 2025
Chris Milne
[FYI request #29332 email]
Dear Chris Milne
Request for Information – Local Government Official Information and Meetings
Act (the Act) 1987
We refer to your request dated 26 November 2024 for:
1) any letters, emails, texts or any other correspondence between Waste
Management and Hutt City Council relating to the Living Wage and the
remuneration of WM staff.
2) any internal emails, memos, meeting minutes, council minutes or meeting
agendas relating to the Living Wage and Waste Management.
3) any internal information held relating to the payment of the Living Wage
to HCC staff or to the staff of contractors to HCC.
Please find attached documents within the scope of your request. Some
Information has been withheld under section 7(2)(a) of the Act, to protect the
Privacy of natural persons.
Hutt City Council became a living wage accredited employer in 2021.
As a living wage accredited employer all directly employed staff receive the living
wage. This is adjusted in line with the annual increases advised by Living Wage
Aotearoa New Zealand. The current Living Wage rate is $27.80.
Part of the Living Wage Aotearoa New Zealand criteria for being an accredited
employer is that all indirectly paid workers employed by contractors, delivering a
service to the business/organisation (HCC) on a regular basis need to be on the
current Living Wage or “on milestones agreed as part of the license.”
As part of our procurement process, we ask those organisations tendering for
business to indicate that they are committed to providing the Living Wage as a
minimum for staff. Waste Management committed to this as part of the RFP for
30 Laings Road, Lower Hutt
Private Bag 31912, Lower Hutt 5040
/huttcitycouncil
0800 488 824
[email address]
www.huttcity.govt.nz
▲The pattern at the top of this page is inspired by the natural landforms, hil s, river, and coastline surrounding Lower Hutt. It represents our people, our place, and our home.
kerbside rubbish and recycling in 2020 (ahead of Hutt City Council’s living wage
accreditation approval) and this was accepted as part of the tender process. This
requirement forms part of our contract with Waste Management.
Waste Management, a large national employer, has several Council collection
contracts with different contract commencement dates. Waste Management
confirms that as per the commitment provided in their RFP, that they started the
new contract with HCC as at 1 July 2021, with remuneration for al staff involved in
servicing the HCC contract at or above the Living Wage.
In addition they have an annual wage and salary review process that is in place
and is run March/April each year. They have steps in place as part of this process
to ensure that remuneration rates for staff servicing the HCC contract are adjusted
each year to reflect any change/increase in the Living Wage.
If you are unhappy with this response, or with the way Council has arrived at the
fees it charges, you can seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman.
Information about how to make a complaint is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.
Please note that this response to your information request may be published on
Hutt City Council’s website. Please refer to the following link:
www.huttcity.govt.nz/council/contactus/make-an-official-information-act-
request/proactive-releases
Yours sincerely
Philip Rossiter
Senior Advisor, Official Information and Privacy
Document Name / XX Month XXXX / Version XX
P.2
Document Outline
