Factory workers are almost always in demand in New Zealand. The country has lots of businesses with factories always looking to fill in positions for that much needed work. They even look to hire people abroad, including the Philippines, as the demand is just that high. The pay is competitive as well, and so many looking for jobs find this position appealing.
If you are interested in working as a factory worker in New Zealand, you need to know how much you can earn. Is the salary worth it? How about the expenses? Can you sustain a decent life, with the ability to save and send money back to your family in the Philippines working as a factory worker in New Zealand? These questions will be answered in this article.
Disclaimer: The information posted here is based on the personal experiences shared by the OFW in the video below. Please let this post serve as a guide only. If you have specific questions, you may ask the OFW by commenting on their video on their accounts.
Why Working as a Factory Worker in New Zealand is Worth it
This article is a summary of the information presented by an OFW YouTuber through her YouTube channel Vangeline McCann. In this video, she talks about the salary of factory workers in New Zealand. If you want to learn more, check the video link below. Also check out the other videos from her YouTube channel for more related content.
Vangeline was inspired to create this video because she received numerous requests, most of which were commented from her previous videos. Her viewers wanted to know how much you can earn as a worker in New Zealand in general, including what the minimum rate is.
She is not yet working in New Zealand, though, so she doesn’t have any firsthand experience with regards to receiving an actual salary, but she does have friends, acquaintances and relatives that work in New Zealand.
The salary depends on the nature of the work, obviously, but in this video, she focuses on factory workers. In particular, how much factory workers earn in New Zealand.
As mentioned, the information on factory worker salary presented below is not from her firsthand experience, but provided by her cousin who works in New Zealand.
Minimum Rate
In New Zealand, the minimum rate is 17.70 NZD per hour. When you convert that to Philippine Pesos, that is around 615 pesos per hour, depending on the current exchange rate. She said that in the Philippines, it’s more common to talk about salary on a per day basis, so this is one thing that you
She also said that the minimum rate doesn’t vary that much when compared to working in the city versus working in the more rural areas. In the Philippines, or in many other countries, when you work in the provinces, your rate is different (lower) than when you are working in the city. That is usually the case because the cost of living in the cities is generally higher compared to the cost of living in more rural locations.
Work Hours
The number of work hours you have to spend on a daily or weekly basis depends on the company you are working in. Some companies require you to work 8 hours per day, but this is not true for all companies.
In fact, she said that there are companies that require workers to work 12 hours per day. For example, she said that her cousin works 12 hours per day as a factory worker. Starting at 7 am to 7 pm.
That’s really an incredible amount of hours per day no matter which standard you base it on. That’s why as a factory worker, you need to be hard working and spend most of your hours in a day at the workplace. You don’t have much left to yourself, tending to your personal wants or needs outside your job.
Aside from 12 hours per day, her cousin also works 6 days a week. So basically, you only have one day per week of rest, where in many other professions, you have the entire weekend to recuperate from just 8 hours of work.
Salary of a Factory Worker
Given that the minimum rate is 17.70 NZD per hour, and that a factory worker works 12 hours a day for 6 days, we can compute how much they can earn in a week. Simple multiplication shows that a factory worker can earn 1,274.40 NZD. This is before deductions.
1,274.40 NZD is equivalent to a gross weekly pay of around 44,200 Philippine Pesos. That is, of course, assuming that the worker has no absences and is working straight 12 hours for 6 days.
Take Home Pay
Since this weekly pay is gross, there will be deductions, like taxes and what not. Although our YouTube did not go into the details of what these deductions are and their corresponding values, she did mention that she has the pay slip of her cousin, and shares what the take home pay is.
As it turns out, the take home pay of her factory worker cousin is 1,086 NZD in one week. In Philippine Pesos this is equal to around 38,000 PhP. It’s really high when you consider that this is just one week’s worth of work, albeit for 12 hours a day and 6 days.
Now, we can calculate how much he earns in one month. This is, of course, given that the factory worker works for a full month without absences. By multiplying this value by 4, we can see that in one month, a factory worker in New Zealand can get a take home pay of 4,344 NZD.
In Philippine Pesos, the net monthly salary of a factory worker in New Zealand is around 150,700 PhP. That’s really high when you think about it. That’s definitely a lot more than what average workers in the Philippines earn.
Factors Affecting Salary
Having said that, she said that we shouldn’t get too excited. Yes, it is a huge salary for a factory worker, but of course, you live in New Zealand. You have a house or an accommodation in New Zealand, you buy goods here, you pay the bills here, and all other expenses. If you consider all of these other expenses, you will find that the cost of living is also high.
She did not elaborate on what these possible expenses are, though, since in this video, she only focused on the salary of a factory worker in New Zealand. In addition, your actual salary when you decide to work in the country with the same job will probably vary, because it largely depends on where you are working.
In fact, she said that there are factories that only require their workers to work 8 hours a day. That reduces the weekly and monthly pay compared to the example shown in this article, especially if the pay is still at minimum wage.
Another factor is your position and the corresponding nature of work in the company. Obviously, the higher your rank, the higher the pay. In fact, those who are working in construction, like carpenters and what not, are actually paid higher than factory workers. This is based on what our YouTuber knows and from what she’s heard from her peers.
More on Expenses
Just like in any other country in the world, your expenses depend largely on what your lifestyle is and where you live. For example, if you are just renting a house, or if you are living with a group and you have a lot of board mates, these kinds of details affect how much you spend and what’s left of your salary.
Indeed, when you convert what you earn in NZD to Philippines Pesos, your salary is really high. However, if you are using the money you earn in New Zealand in the country anyway, and if you don’t know how to save and have a solid financial plan, then you might just as well be going back to the home country to work.
In addition, if you plan on working in New Zealand, statistics roughly show that you are most likely going to be in Auckland. That’s pretty much because most immigrants tend to go there, and it is the center of commerce in the country.
In Auckland, for example, a one-bedroom apartment is around 300 to 400 NZD, while a 2 bedroom apartment is around 450 to 600 NZD. Also rent is commonly paid on a weekly basis. These values are for weekly pay, and you have to multiply them by 4 if you want to get the monthly pay.
Aside from the weekly rent, landlords also typically ask for advance pay and bond money. Bond money is security for the land lord whenever you don’t pay rent or if you cause any damages in the property you are renting. There are other fees as well.
Another common way of staying in New Zealand is through flatting. By flatting, you can save money because you are sharing a property with more people. You can live with your work mates, friends, or even strangers.
Transportation is also another expense that you need to consider. Public transportation includes rail services, and buses, but public transport is limited so most Kiwis prefer to buy a car. One bus ride within the center of Auckland is around 55 cents with a special public transportation card, or a dollar with cash.
There you have it. If you want to be a factory worker in New Zealand, note that while the work hours are high, the salary is also really high, and you are well compensated for all your hard work.