# Question 126: For the 2026 New Zealand general election: What are parties offering on job creation, wages, retraining and employment rights?

Collected 23 October 2026

[NZ Election 2026 · Edition 5 study](https://nzbrands.ai/research/nz-election-2026/editions/5)

## ChatGPT

Answer ID: a76f9077-cdbb-4672-8c19-a88e6286001a

# New Zealand election 2026: Jobs, wages, training and workers’ rights

Policy comparison · 23 October 2026 · New Zealand-wide

New Zealand's general election is scheduled for Saturday 7 November 2026. The main differences between parties are how they want to create jobs, whether wages should rise through government policy or economic growth, how much support apprentices and retraining workers should receive, and how strongly employment law should protect workers. [Policies for Party vote - NZ Election 2026](https://policy.nz/2026/party-vote/policies/incomes-and-employment)[Election policy tracker: what the parties are promising](https://stories.theconversation.com/nz-policy-tracker-2026/)

Here is a comparison of the published proposals from National, Labour, the Green Party, ACT, New Zealand First, Te Pāti Māori and The Opportunities Party (TOP).

## 1. What each party is proposing

![Will National Party Finish 2nd in New Zealand's 2026 Election?](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/LCDs4P76HEgfCayafHeSga8GCw12Vxs2fPc3toeyLUZ-wmb6UiGRZY6bhdT1xRejtICfUd6GX2BWmI76EkpoWuffTU4g32bP_qUJp29rsfn5_Zvj5THHSYTLHSoo_5_YQyZ3zKE1WIpB4bu7raRltFl5TZFCgCcE0quf_GohkFI?purpose=inline)

## National

Economic growth, business investment and employment incentives

- Job creation: Focuses on growing businesses, exports, investment and productivity, including reducing barriers to commercial construction and supporting small businesses.
- Wages: Emphasises economic growth and productivity rather than mandating broad wage increases.
- Training: Its wider economic and education agenda focuses on skills and employment pathways; check individual announcements for specific training grants.
- Employment rights: Supports retaining the 90-day trial framework and the 2026 employment-law changes rather than reversing them. [2026 Election Policy](https://www.national.org.nz/policies)[Election policy tracker: what the parties are promising](https://stories.theconversation.com/nz-policy-tracker-2026/)[PF009: Jobs and unemployment · AI election answers](https://nzbrands.ai/research/nz-election-2026/editions/2/questions/7d45fdca-db85-4ac1-87da-5fa7419c0ae6/)

  [National's 2026 policies](https://www.national.org.nz/policies?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

![South Island Election Conference 2026](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/_spFKDBqOMVPoo8r35YLoGFwljs_-WWe4ur9fdZCfekzAxaUPGA75u8rI9uxOUTssI2hUZN1r4Zu1AeDrcNaxz3uHoFIyWjDpanT5s-KJ87QzxSu1uNjNL4MOHSuazRZuTy_TzC6aN4wxHHoyU_DhzMFuMCMjNBTtg2xRxOZL6c?purpose=inline)

## Labour

Public investment, apprenticeships and stronger worker protections

- Job creation: Its Start Work Now plan would build social housing, upgrade more than 2,000 schools and repair hospitals, supporting construction jobs and nearly 30,000 apprentices. It also proposes a job guarantee for eligible graduate nurses.
- Wages: Proposes restoring pay equity legislation and an immediate $4-per-hour pay rise for 65,000 care and support workers, alongside Living Wage requirements in the public sector.
- Training: Would extend Apprenticeship Boost employer payments, provide a $1,000 toolbox grant and invest $21 million annually in Māori-led vocational training.
- Employment rights: Would restore Fair Pay Agreements, strengthen collective bargaining, reverse specified recent employment-law changes, restore certain leave entitlements and strengthen protections for gig workers. [Good Jobs - NZ Labour's Plan to Grow the Economy](https://www.labour.org.nz/good-jobs)[Fairer Workplaces](https://www.labour.org.nz/fairer-workplaces)

  [Labour's good jobs plan](https://www.labour.org.nz/good-jobs?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

![Green Party NZ (@NZGreens) on X](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/xwoeA3rTn5Pu0UL1uRc6X_g8ADsfUTe55rxQEjXC_rnFR_6TPTr_9eG0LsowNOdFRtax24qB8h-LRfUtZEf42T0CC5OclOZ5katbFJAYxs0cZRyqDBlGNgF_8AV_5WTCbYonGIqLGuK095lLGrkBVw3L8vdsA06tLHVNuCJquuc?purpose=inline)

## Green Party

Good jobs, higher training support and stronger employment standards

- Job creation: Promotes investment in sustainable industries, infrastructure and work that supports environmental restoration and the transition to renewable energy.
- Wages: Supports stronger pay equity and worker protections.
- Training: Would abolish the training wage, give apprentices a $2,000 equipment grant, add $30 million annually for Māori- and Pasifika-led training and offer employers a $2,000 completion bonus for supporting apprentices.
- Employment rights: Supports restoring Fair Pay Agreements and pay equity, and strengthening collective bargaining and protections for workers. [Manifesto 2026](https://www.greens.org.nz/manifesto_2026)[Green Party to abolish training wage and provide more support for apprentices](https://www.greens.org.nz/green_party_to_abolish_training_wage_and_provide_more_support_for_apprentices)[PF009: Jobs and unemployment · AI election answers](https://nzbrands.ai/research/nz-election-2026/editions/2/questions/7d45fdca-db85-4ac1-87da-5fa7419c0ae6/)

  [Green Party's 2026 manifesto](https://www.greens.org.nz/manifesto_2026?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

![New Zealand Legislative Election Winner 2026 Odds | Polymarket](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/jofoEEdOXv6HOQzupGnQLgXlZKKPYTzvN6g4IUMlN6xdqX4l_qH5-Y0A3to5ytO5w95eGsg-WLInlnku5FmW0VEyKqhTiAqcZSbr_Z1e_uNyqacdq4zniDKhRNRugVUCsz1-CYpZeG4nO7sLuQKEQlQMBgJCAoyH3nC76yYHd6E?purpose=inline)

## ACT New Zealand

Business flexibility, lower compliance costs and employment incentives

- Job creation: Emphasises reducing regulatory burdens on employers and making it easier for businesses to expand and hire.
- Wages: Proposes freezing the adult minimum wage for three years, arguing that employers need room for productivity to catch up.
- Training: Would introduce a training wage at 60% of the adult minimum wage for workers under 20 during their first 12 months with an employer.
- Employment rights: Supports retaining 90-day trials and the recent changes to employment law; also proposes protected negotiations for consensual employment exits. [ACT New Zealand](https://www.act.org.nz/backing-small-business)[Election policy tracker: what the parties are promising](https://stories.theconversation.com/nz-policy-tracker-2026/)[PF009: Jobs and unemployment · AI election answers](https://nzbrands.ai/research/nz-election-2026/editions/2/questions/7d45fdca-db85-4ac1-87da-5fa7419c0ae6/)

  [ACT's small-business policy](https://www.act.org.nz/backing-small-business?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

![New Zealand legislative election winner? Predictions & Od... 2026 | Polymarket](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/UmXClDd76aKEk_XyXfEEacFBHXO18HFMG1Im-weRm7tb64uGzBsRK3vWPXuiFN2zaWaNznb7eSDIJucKOhlXtwb6Lq-BYR6oxisKzHsWTxF5AsiLmtcNGDNtwCsXzgIuSp2vW4pa6pAda-tTriG23zKX1ZuknQ81HGh411pqRkM?purpose=inline)

## New Zealand First

Domestic industry, regional development and economic self-reliance

- Job creation: Its proposals include retaining more economic value in regions, supporting domestic industry and energy development, and cutting the company tax rate for qualifying small and medium-sized businesses.
- Wages: Its published positions do not centre on a broad wage-rise programme comparable to Labour's or the Greens' proposals.
- Training: Specific new retraining and apprenticeship commitments are less prominent in the sources reviewed.
- Employment rights: Opposes reversing several recent employment-law changes, including the changes to trial periods and contractor classification. [Election policy tracker: what the parties are promising](https://stories.theconversation.com/nz-policy-tracker-2026/)[PF009: Jobs and unemployment · AI election answers](https://nzbrands.ai/research/nz-election-2026/editions/2/questions/7d45fdca-db85-4ac1-87da-5fa7419c0ae6/)

  [NZ First](https://www.nzfirst.nz/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

![New Zealand Legislative Election Winner 2026 Odds | Polymarket](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/HHEWLfcjRbgNTl3J7ZI3ahpGFiM337cSMZSj-gfqthhb3O1OJ8vhDGH4x2nBOUQoPRFHldf4E0rUprxmRG4JddGiw5atorslzfs34M-9xbTy2yNYWAjL5wP10lk3C-YjZAm-m43DF6her5QZGf5OtQEw7NLpqO4hrIjzpsWiQm8?purpose=inline)

## Te Pāti Māori

Māori economic development, fair pay and employment protections

- Job creation: Emphasises Māori-led economic development and opportunities for Māori communities and businesses.
- Wages: Supports restoring pay equity legislation and raising the minimum wage to the Living Wage.
- Training: Supports Māori-led approaches to vocational skills and employment pathways.
- Employment rights: Supports restoring Fair Pay Agreements and reversing recent changes that weaken worker protections, including changes to trial periods and employment status. [Party policies, simplified: Employment](https://www.thedlist.co.nz/newsfeed/party-policies-simplified-employment/)[PF009: Jobs and unemployment · AI election answers](https://nzbrands.ai/research/nz-election-2026/editions/2/questions/7d45fdca-db85-4ac1-87da-5fa7419c0ae6/)

  [Te Pāti Māori](https://www.maoriparty.org.nz/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

![](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/KZ1zP60v_ZeHHj3ij4DA2sVh6oX86DHN4x_RGhm63IEKbj8P_3phlgxON0_dzBqruxZt_piBvLSwWYOzxGtRjeiBIDJnBczyBauAihY7VhbFruy9Xq4tPeGbXtvfFHap7T9ZV_eOqtHyttigv_yv7jT6ibug6IoPJMJnJ8SLOeE?purpose=inline)

## The Opportunities Party (TOP)

Innovation, productivity and changes to the tax and income system

- Job creation: Highlights research and development, innovation, technology investment and more competitive markets as ways to support productive employment.
- Wages: Its broader economic approach focuses on structural changes to incomes and incentives, rather than relying only on conventional wage-setting measures.
- Training: Skills and adaptation to technological change are relevant to its economic agenda, although specific retraining commitments should be checked against its detailed policies.
- Employment rights: Supports restoring pay equity legislation and ending the minimum-wage exemption for disabled workers. [Election policy tracker: what the parties are promising](https://stories.theconversation.com/nz-policy-tracker-2026/)[Party policies, simplified: Employment](https://www.thedlist.co.nz/newsfeed/party-policies-simplified-employment/)[Policies for Party vote - NZ Election 2026](https://policy.nz/2026/party-vote/policies/incomes-and-employment)

  [TOP](https://www.top.org.nz/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

## 2. The biggest differences at a glance

| Issue | Main policy contrast |
| --- | --- |
| Creating jobs | National emphasises private-sector growth and investment; Labour proposes government-funded building and service projects; the Greens emphasise sustainable industries; NZ First focuses on domestic industry and regional development. |
| Raising wages | Labour proposes targeted pay rises and a Living Wage across the public sector. The Greens and Te Pāti Māori support stronger wage protections. ACT proposes a three-year minimum-wage freeze. |
| Apprenticeships | Labour proposes a $1,000 toolbox grant and extended employer subsidies. The Greens propose a $2,000 equipment grant and abolishing the training wage. ACT proposes a lower training wage for eligible young workers. |
| Job security | Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori support restoring several worker protections. National and ACT support retaining recent employment-law changes. NZ First also opposes reversing several of these changes. |
| Pay equity | Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori support restoring the pay equity framework. TOP has also supported restoring pay equity legislation. |

Sources: party policy announcements and the 2026 election employment-policy comparison. [Good Jobs - NZ Labour's Plan to Grow the Economy](https://www.labour.org.nz/good-jobs)[Fairer Workplaces](https://www.labour.org.nz/fairer-workplaces)[Green Party to abolish training wage and provide more support for apprentices](https://www.greens.org.nz/green_party_to_abolish_training_wage_and_provide_more_support_for_apprentices)[PF009: Jobs and unemployment · AI election answers](https://nzbrands.ai/research/nz-election-2026/editions/2/questions/7d45fdca-db85-4ac1-87da-5fa7419c0ae6/)[Party policies, simplified: Employment](https://www.thedlist.co.nz/newsfeed/party-policies-simplified-employment/)

## 3. What do these policies mean for different workers?

If you're looking for work in construction or the trades

Compare Labour's proposed building programme and apprenticeship subsidies with the Greens' higher apprentice support and training-wage abolition. These proposals differ in how they support employers versus apprentices directly.

If you're on a low wage

The key questions are whether the adult minimum wage increases, whether a lower training rate applies to you, and whether pay equity or collective bargaining could improve your pay. ACT's proposed freeze contrasts with the stronger wage-setting interventions supported by Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori.

If you need to retrain or change careers

Look closely at funding eligibility, whether training is paid, the availability of job placements and whether support continues after qualification. Announced apprenticeship grants are more specific than general promises to improve skills.

If you're concerned about job security

Compare the parties' positions on 90-day trials, personal grievance claims, contractor classification, union access and sector-wide pay agreements. These rules can affect your ability to challenge dismissal, negotiate pay or access employment entitlements. [PF009: Jobs and unemployment · AI election answers](https://nzbrands.ai/research/nz-election-2026/editions/2/questions/7d45fdca-db85-4ac1-87da-5fa7419c0ae6/)[Policy scorecards for working people NZCTU](https://union.org.nz/election-scorecards-26/)

## 4. What should you check before relying on a promise?

Election announcements are proposals, not guaranteed outcomes. For each policy, it is worth checking:

- Who qualifies? For example, whether an apprentice grant applies to every trade or only specified programmes.
- When does it start? Some commitments are proposed for 2027 or later.
- How is it funded? A proposed programme's cost and funding source matter to its delivery.
- What is already law? A promise to retain, repeal or change an existing law is different from introducing a new benefit.

For a broader independent comparison, [Policy.nz's 2026 incomes and employment guide](https://policy.nz/2026/party-vote/policies/incomes-and-employment?utm_source=chatgpt.com) lets you explore policies across jobs, wages and working conditions. The [New Zealand Council of Trade Unions' election scorecards](https://union.org.nz/election-scorecards-26/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) provide a more detailed worker-rights comparison; bear in mind that the CTU represents organised labour, so its commentary should be read alongside the parties' own published positions. [Policies for Party vote - NZ Election 2026](https://policy.nz/2026/party-vote/policies/incomes-and-employment)[Policy scorecards for working people NZCTU](https://union.org.nz/election-scorecards-26/)

The central choice is between different approaches to employment: encouraging business growth and flexibility, directly funding jobs and training, or strengthening wages and employment protections. Parties also combine these approaches in different ways, so their individual policies matter as much as their overall economic philosophy.

## Gemini

Answer ID: 1b1b7e30-35e4-4a82-9540-f340201df6b3

For the 2026 New Zealand general election, political parties have staked out distinct positions on the core economic issues of job creation, wages, retraining, and employment rights. The major groupings divide broadly along traditional left-right lines regarding market regulation, union powers, and state support.

### 1. Job Creation and Business Support
* **Labour:** Focuses on infrastructure-led employment and small business support. Key policies include the *Start Work Now* programme targeting school upgrades, hospital repairs, and social housing. Labour also proposes making it easier for small businesses to hire their first employees, engage seasonal workers, and take on apprentices, alongside streamlining employment dispute resolution to cut management costs.
* **ACT:** Emphasizes deregulation, productivity-focused incentives, and reducing compliance costs for businesses to stimulate private sector hiring. Policies include tax deductions for productive software and digital IT investments to foster tech-sector employment.
* **Green Party:** Focuses job creation on the green economy, public infrastructure, and community-led renewable energy projects, alongside establishing specialized legal structures for social enterprises.

### 2. Wages and Incomes
* **ACT & Right-Leaning Alignment:** Proposes freezing the adult minimum wage for three years (holding it at $23.95/hour) to relieve pressure on business cash flows. ACT also advocates introducing a lower training wage (set at 60% of the minimum wage) for workers under 20 during their first 12 months. 
* **Labour & Left Bloc (Green / Te Pāti Māori):** Oppose wage freezes, pointing to cost-of-living pressures. 
  * The **Green Party** advocates raising the minimum wage to the living wage and removing youth wage rates entirely.
  * **Labour** has committed to restoring specific pay equity measures, including an immediate targeted pay rise for care and support workers. 

### 3. Retraining and Skills
* **Labour:** Focuses heavily on trades and vocational pathways. Proposals include extending *Apprenticeship Boost* employer payments to two years at $500 a month, providing a $1,000 toolbox grant, adding five additional eligible trades, and funding structured mentoring and Māori-led trades training initiatives.
* **Green Party & Others:** Emphasize targeted workforce upskilling in critical sectors like health, green energy, and education, ensuring that transitions toward a low-emissions economy include government-backed retraining safety nets for affected regional workers.

### 4. Employment Rights and Industrial Relations
* **Labour, Green, and Te Pāti Māori (Pro-Worker / Union Alignment):** 
  * Plan to roll back recent employer-friendly legislative changes. This includes moving to repeal or amend recent changes to the Employment Relations Act and health and safety laws.
  * Support the re-introduction of mechanisms like Fair Pay Agreements (or equivalent sector-wide bargaining structures) to lift standards in low-wage industries.
  * Propose introducing automatic "opt-out" union membership for employees covered by collective agreements to make union representation more accessible.
  * Oppose or seek to abolish 90-day trial periods to protect worker job security.
* **ACT and National-led Regulatory Stance:**
  * Support flexibility for employers, including maintaining or expanding trial periods and streamlining personal grievance procedures. 
  * ACT has proposed shortening the time limit for lodging a personal grievance with the Employment Relations Authority down to 90 days (exempting sexual harassment claims) to reduce uncertainty and legal costs for businesses.
  * Propose making payroll deductions for union fees strictly voluntary rather than default employer practices.

## Google AI Mode

Answer ID: 54b2ac03-5a2a-4fb7-a198-6c2ebd3bda01

For the 2026 New Zealand general election, political parties have put forward distinct policy approaches regarding job creation, wages, retraining, and employment rights.

**New Zealand Labour Party**

 * * **Employment Rights & Workplaces:** Labour is campaigning on rolling back the current government's employment changes to build a worker-centred framework. Their proposals include reintroducing Fair Pay Agreements legislation and restoring pay equity legislation within their first 100 days in office.

 * **Wages:** Labour proposes requiring the Living Wage to be paid to all directly employed workers across government departments, agencies, schools, and hospitals, alongside requiring large employers to publish gender and demographic pay gap data. [NZ Labour Party]

 * **Employment Relations:** They intend to review the Employment Relations Act to enhance minimum redundancy compensation protections and make collective bargaining default options while retaining individual choice. [NZ Labour Party]

 *

**ACT New Zealand**

 * * **Wages:** ACT advocates freezing the adult minimum wage for three years, arguing that previous mandated increases outpaced economic productivity and burdened small businesses. They also propose introducing a lower training wage set at 60% of the adult minimum wage for workers under 20 during their first 12 months with an employer.

 * **Employment Rights & Red Tape:** ACT proposes allowing "protected exit negotiations" so employers and employees can mutually agree to end an employment relationship with compensation without triggering a personal grievance claim. They also seek to shorten the timeframe to lodge personal grievance proceedings with the Employment Relations Authority to three months and make employer collection of union fees entirely voluntary. [ACT NZ]

 *

**Green Party**

 * * **Retraining & Apprenticeships:** The Green Party’s "Good Jobs for All of Us" package focuses heavily on trades and apprenticeship support. They propose abolishing the training wage so apprentices receive the full minimum wage (23.95/hr), introducing a $2,000 equipment grant for apprentices to cover tools and uniforms, and providing a $30 million annual funding uplift for Māori and Pasifika-led training schemes.

 * **Job Creation:** The party’s platform emphasises job creation tied to public infrastructure, home building, and renewable energy transition sectors. They also propose a $2,000 completion bonus for employers who actively guide apprentices through their qualification pathways.

 *

**New Zealand First**

 * * **Wages & Cost of Living:** NZ First is campaigning on implementing a regular annual uplift to the minimum wage over the next three years to help lower-wage workers counter inflation and cost-of-living pressures. This is paired with a policy to make the temporary in-work tax credit boost permanent and increase Working for Families support.

 * **Job Creation & Immigration:** On employment and workforce supply, NZ First proposes scrapping the Accredited Employer Work Visa model and replacing it with a narrower, skills-and-shortage-led visa regime to protect local employment opportunities.

 *

**New Zealand National Party**

 * * **Job Creation & Economy:** National's economic strategy focuses on broad macroeconomic settings, infrastructure investment, and redirecting public savings into frontline services rather than direct labor market interventions. Their fiscal and budgetary framework projects job creation tied to economic growth and GDP recovery, while maintaining restrained minimum wage adjustments aligned with ongoing inflation monitoring.