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

As of 26 October 2026, New Zealand's parties are offering quite different approaches to employment. The main divide is between policies that emphasise investment, higher wages and stronger worker protections, and those that focus on business flexibility, lower regulatory costs and stronger incentives to enter or remain in work.

The comparison below covers the major parties and the smaller parties with relevant announced policies. It distinguishes published commitments from broader claims about what those policies might achieve. Party policies can still change during the campaign, and any eventual government may need to negotiate with coalition partners. Election policy tracker: what the parties are promisingPolicy scorecards for working people NZCTU2026 General Election Policies: What they could mean for businesses | New Zealand

1. The main parties at a glance

Party	Job creation	Wages and income	Training and retraining	Employment rights
Labour	Public infrastructure projects, small-business growth and targeted job programmes	Stronger pay protections and improved KiwiSaver contributions	Apprenticeship subsidies and Māori-led vocational training	Restore Fair Pay Agreements and pay equity legislation
National	Private-sector growth, exports, infrastructure and business investment	Emphasis on keeping taxes low and growing incomes through employment	Earlier, work-focused help for jobseekers	Emphasis on business flexibility and employment expectations
Green Party	Youth jobs guarantee and investment in housing, clean energy and infrastructure	Abolish the training wage and support better-paid work	Larger apprentice grants and targeted training support	Stronger pay equity and worker protections
ACT	Business-led growth and reduced compliance costs	Freeze the adult minimum wage for three years	A lower training wage for eligible workers under 20	More flexible employment arrangements
NZ First	Economic recovery and stronger domestic competition	Annual minimum-wage increases at least matching inflation	Less prominently featured in the wage announcements reviewed	Focus on fair pay and support for working families
Opportunity Party	Investment and economic reforms, including public transport proposals	Restore fair-pay rules for care workers; broader retirement-savings reforms	Not as central in the available summaries	Restore protections for care workers and address market concentration
Te Pāti Māori	Community-focused and Māori economic development proposals	Worker and whānau wellbeing	Māori-centred approaches feature in its wider policy platform	Māori worker and community interests feature in its wider platform

Sources: party policy announcements and the 2026 election policy tracker. This is a thematic overview, not a claim that every policy in a row is a fully costed or final manifesto commitment. Election policy tracker: what the parties are promisingLabour's 2026 Election Policies2026 Election PolicyGreen Party to abolish training wage and provide more support for apprenticesACT New ZealandIncreasing Working for Families and Minimum Wage2026 NZ election campaign guide, policies & fiscal plans

2. What the parties are proposing in detail

Labour: create jobs and strengthen pay and conditions

Job creation

Labour's Start Work Now programme would bring forward work on social housing, school improvements and hospital repairs. It also proposes a graduate nurse job guarantee and support for small businesses, including a target for 15% of government contracts to go to New Zealand small businesses and start-ups. Labour's 2026 Election PoliciesLabour's 2026 Election Policies

• Wages and savings: Restore Fair Pay Agreements, restore the pay equity system and extend the Living Wage across the public service. Employer KiwiSaver contributions would rise to 6% by 2032. Labour's 2026 Election PoliciesPolicy scorecards for working people NZCTU
• Retraining: Extend Apprenticeship Boost payments to employers, provide a $1,000 toolbox grant and add five trades to the programme from July 2027. Labour also proposes $21 million annually for Māori-led vocational training. Labour's 2026 Election PoliciesElection policy tracker: what the parties are promising
• Employment rights: Reverse the 2026 changes to personal grievances and employment classification, abolish 90-day trials and restore stronger pay equity and industry-wide bargaining protections, as set out in Labour's positions reported by the NZ Council of Trade Unions. Policy scorecards for working people NZCTUPolicy scorecards for working people NZCTU

National: grow businesses and move more people into work

Job creation

National's approach centres on private-sector growth, exports, investment and reducing barriers to business activity. Its policies include helping small businesses, making commercial building consents easier and growing export markets. 2026 Election Policy2026 Election Policy

• Wages and savings: Emphasise economic growth, low taxes and higher take-home incomes through employment. National proposes compulsory KiwiSaver participation for workers.
• Retraining and employment support: Provide more intensive, work-focused assistance to 30,000 work-ready jobseekers who have been receiving a benefit for over a year. National also proposes stronger work expectations and changes to benefit eligibility for some long-term recipients. A firm, fair and affordable welfare system2026 Election Policy
• Employment rights: Retain the current direction on 90-day trials and the recent employment-law changes rather than restoring the previous settings for Fair Pay Agreements and pay equity. The NZCTU's comparison notes that National did not directly answer its industrial-policy questionnaire, so some of its entries reflect its public record and legislation. Policy scorecards for working people NZCTUPolicy scorecards for working people NZCTU

Green Party: guarantee a pathway into work and invest in skills

Job creation

The Greens propose a Youth Jobs Guarantee for 16–24-year-olds who have been out of work for six months, guaranteeing a pathway into a job, education or training. They also propose investment in housing, renewable energy and infrastructure to create employment. Good Jobs For All of UsGood Jobs For All of Us

• Wages: Abolish the training wage so apprentices and trainees can be paid the ordinary minimum wage, and support minimum-wage increases above inflation.
• Retraining: Provide a $2,000 apprentice equipment grant, a $30 million annual funding boost for Māori- and Pasifika-led training and support, and a $2,000 completion bonus for employers who help apprentices finish their qualifications. Green Party to abolish training wage and provide more support for apprenticesGood Jobs For All of Us
• Employment rights: Restore Fair Pay Agreements and pay equity legislation, abolish 90-day trials, and reverse the 2026 changes to personal grievance and employment-classification rules. Policy scorecards for working people NZCTUPolicy scorecards for working people NZCTU

ACT: reduce hiring costs and increase workplace flexibility

Job creation

ACT argues that lower compliance costs and fewer restrictions will make it easier for small businesses to hire, invest and grow. Its proposals include tax deductions for productive software and digital investment. ACT New ZealandACT New Zealand

• Wages: Freeze the adult minimum wage for three years, giving employers time to adjust to previous wage increases.
• Retraining: Introduce a training wage set at 60% of the adult minimum wage for eligible workers under 20 during their first 12 months with an employer.
• Employment rights: Allow protected negotiations about mutually agreed employment exits, require personal grievance proceedings to be lodged within three months of the grievance being raised, and make payroll deductions for union fees voluntary. ACT New ZealandACT New Zealand

The central trade-off in ACT's proposals is between reducing the costs and risks of hiring for employers and maintaining existing wage floors and worker protections.

New Zealand First: inflation-linked wages and more support for working families

Job creation

New Zealand First's relevant proposals emphasise economic recovery, stronger domestic competition and keeping people in work. Its published wage package focuses more directly on workers' purchasing power than on a large new retraining programme. Increasing Working for Families and Minimum WageElection policy tracker: what the parties are promising

• Wages: Increase the minimum wage at least in line with inflation in each of the next three years.
• Family income: Make the temporary $50-a-week increase to the in-work tax credit permanent and add another $70, taking the proposed total to $120 a week. The party estimates the additional policy would cost $500–600 million annually.
• Retraining: A distinct new vocational-training package is less prominent in the published wage announcement reviewed here.
• Employment rights: The NZCTU records New Zealand First as opposing restoration of Fair Pay Agreements and the previous pay equity system, while supporting annual inflation-linked minimum-wage increases. Increasing Working for Families and Minimum WagePolicy scorecards for working people NZCTUPolicy scorecards for working people NZCTU

The smaller parties

• The Opportunity Party (TOP): Its wider economic platform includes competition reforms and KiwiSaver changes. It has also proposed restoring fair-pay rules for care workers. The NZCTU records TOP as supporting restoration of pay equity and personal grievance protections, but not restoration of Fair Pay Agreements. Election policy tracker: what the parties are promisingPolicy scorecards for working people NZCTU
• Te Pāti Māori: Its wider platform places emphasis on Māori economic development and whānau wellbeing. On workplace policy, the NZCTU records support for restoring Fair Pay Agreements and pay equity, abolishing 90-day trials and reversing the 2026 changes to personal grievance rules. Policy scorecards for working people NZCTUPolicy scorecards for working people NZCTUPolicy scorecards for working people NZCTU

For these smaller parties, the detail and coverage of the policies above vary; check their current full manifestos for additional commitments.

3. Where the biggest differences lie

The NZCTU's election scorecards, published in October 2026, provide a useful comparison of specific workplace issues. The union represents a worker-focused perspective, so its commentary should be read as an advocacy organisation's assessment rather than a neutral evaluation of the likely economic effects.

Issue	Labour and Greens	National and ACT	NZ First
Fair Pay Agreements	Restore them	Do not restore them	Does not support restoration
Pay equity system	Restore previous settings	Do not restore previous settings	Does not support restoration
90-day trials	Abolish them	Retain them	Does not support abolition
Minimum wage	Support increases above inflation	ACT proposes a three-year freeze; National's position on above-inflation increases is unclear in the scorecard	Increase at least with inflation
Personal grievance protections	Restore previous settings	Retain the 2026 changes	Does not support restoration

Sources: NZCTU election scorecards and published party policy. National and ACT did not directly answer the NZCTU's industrial-policy questionnaire; their entries reflect public statements and legislative history. Policy scorecards for working people NZCTUPolicy scorecards for working people NZCTUPolicy scorecards for working people NZCTUACT New ZealandIncreasing Working for Families and Minimum Wage

4. What to look for when comparing the promises

The headline announcements are only part of the picture. Four practical questions help distinguish what the policies would mean for workers.

• Will jobs actually be created? Look for specific funding, numbers of jobs, delivery dates and whether the jobs are additional or depend on private investment responding to incentives.
• Will wages rise in real terms? A wage increase is not necessarily an improvement in purchasing power if prices rise faster. Compare minimum-wage commitments with inflation and consider KiwiSaver, tax and in-work support separately.
• Who pays for retraining? Apprenticeship subsidies and equipment grants reduce some training costs, but eligibility, course fees, living expenses and the availability of employers willing to train people also matter.
• What happens if workplace arrangements go wrong? Compare the parties' positions on dismissal protections, personal grievances, leave, health and safety, union access, contractor classification and pay equity.

Bottom line: Labour and the Greens are proposing more direct government intervention to create jobs, support training and strengthen employment protections. National emphasises private-sector growth and work-focused employment support. ACT places the greatest emphasis among these parties on wage restraint and flexibility for employers, while NZ First combines inflation-linked minimum-wage increases with extra support for working families.

Those are differences in policy design, not guarantees of economic outcomes. Actual employment, wages and training opportunities will depend on implementation, funding, economic conditions and any coalition agreements after the election.

Sources to explore

• The Conversation — 2026 NZ election policy tracker
• Labour — 2026 election policies
• National — 2026 election policies
• Green Party — Good Jobs for All of Us
• ACT — Backing Small Business
• New Zealand First — Minimum wage and Working for Families
• NZ Council of Trade Unions — 2026 election scorecards for working people