Category: Equal pay

The Government must fund care workers before landlords

E tū, the biggest private sector union in Aotearoa New Zealand, is shocked to learn that the National Party’s coalition agreement with ACT would see planned tax breaks for landlords brought forward, costing at least $900 million according to analysis by the Council of Trade Unions.

The news comes as the new National-led Government is announcing more details about their fiscal plan. E tū urges the Government to prioritise workers and their communities, including essential workers in care and support.

One area that needs urgent attention is funding for the care and support pay equity claim. Care and support workers have already waited too long for proper recognition of their skills.

Caregiver and Convenor of the E tū Community Support Industry Council, Marianne Bishop, says funding the sector properly is long overdue.

“It’s stupid that the sector has always been so underfunded,” Marianne says.

“People pay taxes their whole lives, but then have to fight for the care they need when they are older.

“The new Government has some important decisions to make about their priorities. Landlords are not doing it tough, but care and support workers certainly are.

“We have only had up to a 3% pay rise in the last year, with some of us getting nothing, despite the cost of living increasing so much more than that. Everyone is really struggling, especially our colleagues in home support who have to cover their own vehicle costs and other expenses.”

Marianne says the Government needs to fund pay equity to ensure the care sector can function properly in the future.

“We have an ageing population and an ageing workforce. What’s going to happen in 10, or 20 years’ time? How are going to attract new people into the industry if they can’t earn a living? It’s just not going to work.

“We won the first settlement under a National Government in 2017, now it’s time for them to step up again. They keep saying that people voted for change, well now it’s time to really change things for people who need care and those who provide it.” 

Unions lodge pay equity claim for care and support workers 

Unions representing care and support workers are lodging a pay equity claim today to raise pay rates for a majority female workforce that has always been undervalued.

The pay equity claim is a crucial step in stemming the crisis the care and support sector faces, E tū, NZNO, and PSA unions say.

Last week, the Government passed legislation which gives care and support workers a three percent pay increase for 18 months, while the pay equity claim is completed.

Unions say the disappointing pay increase is a “step backwards” in workers’ fight to win fair pay rates.

E tū Director Kirsty McCully says unions are pushing to achieve pay equity as soon as possible.

“Care and support workers, who are mostly women, deserve recognition and fair pay for the crucial work they do in our communities.

“In 2017 when the Act was first passed, we finally achieved decent pay rises for workers who had been undervalued and underpaid for decades.

“But now with the cost of living sitting at 6.9%, this low-paid group of workers is struggling to survive and that directly impacts those who need care and support: elderly, people with disabilities, and those with mental health and addictions needs, and their whānau.”

PSA Assistant Secretary Melissa Woolley says unions are calling on the Government to “fast track” the pay equity process.

“We need the Government to value these essential health workers and respect the people they support by expediting the pay equity process and by funding an interim pay increase, as they have for all other health workers during their pay equity processes.”

NZNO Manager for Industrial Services Glenda Alexander says raising pay for workers by achieving pay equity is a key part of solving the crisis in the care and support sector.

“Workers are leaving the sector because they can’t survive on what they earn,” she says.

“Raising pay rates and creating viable career pathways is a major factor in ensuring care and support workers have decent work, but also in making sure that people in our communities have access to the care they need and deserve.”

ENDS For more information and comment:
Kirsty McCully (E tū), 027 204 6354
Melissa Woolley (PSA), 0274 418 230
Glenda Alexander (NZNO), 027 201 6881

Historic win in advancing equal pay for women

The “sun is shining” for caregiver and equal pay campaigner Kristine Bartlett and female workers everywhere in the wake of the Equal Pay Amendment Bill which passed late on Thursday night.

The amendment, which was passed at 11.59pm on July 23, will now make it easier for workers to raise a pay equity claim and help parties reach a settlement without going through the court system.

It’s welcome news for Kristine, a former rest home carer, who fought for years to secure the Care and Support Workers (Pay Equity) Settlement Agreement in 2017.

The settlement confirmed that the low rates of pay in the care and support sector were the result of systematic, gender-based discrimination.

Kristine, who is newly retired, says the new amendment “hits the nail on the head”.

“The sun is shining down on me today. Now those low-paid women workers can fight for their rights without going to court.

“The new law is now in place after eight years, after all the hard work from all the union members, supporters, and women’s coalition groups. We’ve finally done it in the year 2020.”

Kristine says although it took her awhile to understand the case she was fighting, when she did, she wondered why it hadn’t been done “donkey’s years ago”.

“I’ll never forget the first pay on my site and the look on the workers’ faces when they got that pay increase – their whole lives changed. Seeing these girls with their heads held high, saying, ‘We’re getting paid what we’re worth now.’”

E tū Assistant National Secretary Annie Newman says bill’s amendment is a fantastic example of how collective action is the way to make real change.

“This is an incredible achievement for all those, including Kristine, who have worked so hard to secure equitable, fair pay for women workers, after years of gender-based discrimination.”

ENDS

For more information and comment:
Annie Newman, 027 204 6340


 

E tū calls on the PM to do more for equal pay

E tū joins the Council of Trade Unions and others in calling on the Prime Minister to make fixing a gender pay imbalance more of a priority.

Statistics released today reveal that the ‘gender pay gap’ has decreased slightly since last year, demonstrating both some good progress and remaining room for improvement.

Wellington caregiver Marianne Bishop knows that E tū members like herself and Kristine Bartlett winning the Care and Support Pay Equity Settlement has made a lot of difference, but there’s more work to do.

“Our equal pay win has helped us progress, but now we need the government to fix the Equal Pay Act so that it’s easier for other claims to be processed,” Marianne says.

“We need to reduce the gap even further, and we need everyone working together to make this happen.” 

E tū Assistant National Secretary Annie Newman says that the Prime Minister has been a great supporter of the equal pay campaign for years and now can make a huge difference.

“It’s been great to have to support of the Prime Minister and the coalition government parties at many crucial points in our fight for equal pay,” Annie says.

“We now need to see her take that to the next step, by making a personal commitment to fixing the problematic Equal Pay Amendment Bill.”

ENDS

For more information and comment:
Annie Newman, 027 204 6340

Unions are calling on Kiwis to sign the petition to the Prime Minister, which outlines what needs to happen from here: http://www.together.org.nz/jacinda-you-can

1) The law shouldn’t delay access to the courts when bargaining doesn’t go well.

2) The law should give more support to sector-wide equal pay settlements, compared to settlements that go employer-by-employer.

3) The law needs to follow existing rules about collective bargaining – not add new ones.

4) The law should support a process where equal pay settlements can be checked to make sure they are up to scratch.

5) The law shouldn’t make women who already have equal pay claims in progress go back to the beginning and start again.  

E tū welcomes Suffrage Day equal pay bill

E tū has welcomed the introduction to parliament today of the Equal Pay Amendment Bill, which the union believes will ease the way for women pursuing equal pay claims.

Government Ministers, Eugenie Sage and Iain Lees-Galloway announced the new bill at a Suffrage Day petition re-enactment at parliament by union women to mark the 125th anniversary of women’s suffrage.

The Bill preserves the Equal Pay Act 1972, which E tū has always supported.

It also includes the recommendations of the Joint Working Group on Pay Equity Principles but without the hurdles proposed by the last Government, which would have made it very difficult for women to take equal pay cases.

“The previous government reneged on the joint working group recommendations and deliberately set it up to make it harder for women to get equal pay,” says New Zealander of the Year and E tū equal pay pioneer, Kristine Bartlett.

Kristine, who was present at today’s announcement, says it’s the perfect way to mark the suffrage anniversary.

“It’s wonderful!  That’s the great thing about it – it’s happening on this historic day,” Kristine says.

E tū’s Campaign lead organiser, Yvette Taylor says Kate Sheppard believed equal pay was the next great battle after votes for women.

“It’s fantastic to hear about the new legislation on such a special day,” says Yvette.

“We’re pleased that it sets a lower bar for cases to progress, particularly with the parties involved able to set their own comparators.

This resolves two key problems with the previous legislation,” she says.

ENDS

For more information, contact:

Yvette Taylor E tū’s Campaign lead organiser ph. 027 431 8486

 

 

 

New Zealander of the Year urges women to “reach high”

New Zealander of the Year, and E tū’s equal pay hero, Kristine Bartlett has marked International Women’s Day with a message to women fighting for equal pay.

“Stand up for what you believe is right and fair and reach high,” says Kristine.

Kristine, who led the campaign for pay equity for care and support workers, says the historic settlement won last year has lifted pay for these predominantly female workers and set a precedent for other women.

That includes early childhood workers who will today be among those presenting the Council of Trade Union’s Treat Her Right equal pay petition to the Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner, Dr Jackie Blue.

“I had a chat with them about a year ago and they acknowledged I’d given them inspiration to fight, and I said, that’s what you’ve got to do if you want something and you deserve it.

“Never give up.  Keep going the way I did the last five years, along with my union.”

Kristine is delighted that this year, International Women’s Day coincides with the global campaign by women against sexual harassment. She says in many ways 2018 is the year of women.

“I’m just so pleased about that – I can say “#MeToo” because I’ve been down that road as well,” she says.

“It’s just so important that we’re starting to do something positive and encouraging people not to be afraid but to speak the truth and let people know what’s going on and what we’ve been through.

“We need a bit of respect in our lives and we deserve it. #MeToo is great – all over the world women are getting the courage to speak up.”

E tū welcomes demise of National’s pay equity bill

E tū has welcomed the Government’s decision to scrap the former National Government’s pay equity bill.

E tū took the pay equity case, Bartlett v Terranova which ultimately led to the equal pay settlement for 55,000 care and support workers.

The Employment (Pay Equity and Equal Pay) Bill passed its first reading in August by just one vote and was opposed by most political parties.

E tū’s Equal Pay Coordinator, Yvette Taylor says women rallied in their thousands against the bill which would have increased the obstacles faced by women seeking equal pay.

“Had this bill proceeded, these women would have been forced into a long process of identifying comparators and proving merit,” says Yvette.

“We were given a strong commitment on the campaign trail that the bill would be scrapped and we’re delighted that has been honoured.”

Yvette says any new legislation needs to respect the Court of Appeal judgement in the case of Bartlett v Terranova as well as the recommendations of the Joint Working Group on pay equity.

Care worker, Kristine Bartlett who took the case says the equal pay settlement wouldn’t have happened if the bill had survived in its current form.

“It’s great news,” says Kristine.

“That bill was going to affect so many other low-paid women in low-paid industries which was totally unfair. We fought hard for five years to get what we deserve and then we get a bill that would make it so much harder for everyone else.

“I’m so glad it’s gone and we look forward to a replacement that makes it easier for women to gain pay equity,” she says.

E tū’s submission on the bill supports retaining the Equal Pay Act 1972 with changes to accommodate the Court of Appeal judgement as well as the Joint Working Group recommendations.

ENDS

For further information, contact:

Yvette Taylor E tū Equal Pay Coordinator ph. 027 431 8486

Mental health workers hopeful new Government signals equal pay deal

Mental health support workers are hopeful the Labour-led Government will finally include them in the equal pay settlement.

The settlement only applies to aged care, disability, and home support workers after negotiators for the previous government refused to include support workers in mental health.

E tū’s Equal Pay Coordinator, Yvette Taylor says the situation is very unfair, but hopes are high they will finally be included.

“Jacinda made a commitment at an equal pay rally during the election campaign to equal pay for these workers and we’re looking forward to that coming to fruition really soon,” says Yvette.

Yvette says talks are already underway with health officials and looking “very positive”.

“We don’t believe the new coalition Government will throw up any barriers to this,” she says.

E tū member and mental health support worker, Sandra Rawenata says she and her colleagues are “rapt” about the new Government which has stoked hopes of a settlement.

“As soon as the Government was announced my friends and I were all over Facebook. It means a pay rise, it means we can feed our families, help our families. It means a lot of happy people,” says Sandra.

“We’re feeling hopeful out here. We’re expecting the Government to stand by what they told us at the equal pay rally and that we will be fairly paid just like our comrades in disability and aged care.”

Sandra says a settlement is crucial to stemming the loss of mental health support workers to other, better-paid care and support work.

ENDS.

For more information, contact:

Yvette Taylor E tū Equal Pay Coordinator ph.027 431 8486

Sandra Rawenata E tū delegate ph. 027 351 4285

 

 

E tū welcomes Green Party’s pay equity policy

E tū has welcomed the Green Party’s commitment to pay equity for women.

The party’s pay equity policy promises pay equity legislation which includes the recommendations of the Joint Working Group on Pay Equity principles. It would also require greater pay transparency by companies, so people know what men and women in the same workplace are paid.

E tū Industry Coordinator, Jill Ovens says the pay equity policies of both Labour and the Greens recognise the integrity of the court rulings in the case of Kristine Bartlett vs Terranova, as well as the Joint Working Group principles.

“We applaud the fact that this begins to recover the ground that’s been lost under a government which has fought against equal pay,” says Jill.

“In the dying days of the current parliament, the Government introduced a bill that would slam the door on hundreds of thousands of women and their hopes of equal pay. Both Labour and the Greens have promised to put this right, which we absolutely support,” she says.

Jill says the union also supports transparency on pay.

“Knowing what men and women earn quickly reveals any pay gap.  This is essential to ending the traditional gap in pay between men and women doing the same or comparable work.”

E tū Women’s Committee Convenor, Marianne Bishop says under the current bill, care and support workers would have struggled to achieve their historic pay equity settlement.

“I think it’s great because obviously the new bill that National put forward, I don’t feel would have helped us get that settlement,” says Marianne.

“It’s good that parties are all looking at this as an election issue.  People need to remember that when they cast their vote, and vote to support those parties which put forward good pay equity policies.”

ENDS

For further information, contact:

Jill Ovens E tū Industry Coordinator, Public and Commercial, ph. 027 446 4966

Marianne Bishop E tū Women’s Committee Convenor, ph. 021 257 4146.