Mr Peters has long been a critic of some New Zealand business practices.
He wants New Zealand to adopt policies similar to what the United Kingdom, Australia, the Netherlands and most of Europe have implemented.
New Zealand had developed a culture of "stuff up and win" where the bosses and directors got paid more even when their companies did less, he said.
The shareholders, investors, customers and workers all suffered through that culture.
The PWC 2017 Executive Reward Report showed bosses’ pay went up 4.6%, on average, but wage and salary earners trailed on 1.7%, according to Statistics New Zealand, Mr Peters said.
"Then we wonder why productivity is in the toilet with Kiwis working their hearts out just to stand still.
"When it’s time to show the executives the door, out comes the corporate chequebook."
Workers were lucky to get redundancy scraps and, in some cases, they received nothing at all, he said.
NZ First would make a priority of performance, not mediocrity, to put the country ahead of the rest.
The policies included: lifting the minimum wage to $20 over three years; setting minimum redundancy provisions based on twice the normal contractual notice period up to a maximum of 13 weeks; amending the Companies Act so wages and salaries, including holiday pay, have equal priority with secured creditors; lowering company tax to 25% over three years; and taxing export-generated income at 20%.
Large company reform would include: amending the Companies Act to give shareholders, including those in co-operatives, a "say on pay" for directors and chief executives; requiring mandatory remuneration reports and reporting on pay equity; introducing regulations around share schemes; and introducing serious penalties for corporate fraud and tax evasion.
