Are we any closer to pay equity?
The gender pay gap persists, and some say the Government’s latest efforts to redress it will not help. Jessica Long reports.
Pressure is building on the Government to move faster on its pay equity legislation after Statistics New Zealand reiterated the average man is still paid 9.3 per cent more than the average woman.
The revelation is hardly new but, after a historic $2 billion pay equity settlement for aged care staff in July 2017, workers in the government-funded service industries have warned potential claimants of unforeseen issues that have arisen from the deal.
The settlement was a significant step for workers in female-dominated occupations. Begun in 2011 from work by the Human Rights Commission, it went on to inspire the E tu¯ union pay equity claim for aged care workers, led by Kristine Bartlett.
But research later found that the settlement, in some cases, meant smaller providers struggled to stay open. There have also been reports of workload increases after the Pay Equity Act’s introduction, according to research from Auckland University of Technology (AUT).
This may well have slowed the progress of other claims as policymakers consider the issues in the proposed Equal Pay Amendment Bill.
As of February, 14 claims had been raised with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, from support staff, nurses and midwives to clerical workers.
Minister for Women Julie Anne Genter would not comment on specific timeframes for the claims, but says pay equity settlements are progressing and she will continue to push for women’s right to be paid fairly.
The Government is committed to passing the equal pay legislation this term, with improvements under way to the proposed law.
In the last year, nurses and teachers received the biggest increase to wages in a decade and increased the minimum wage by $1.95 – affecting the 60 per cent of women who make up the minimum wage workforce, she says.
‘‘New Zealand is leading the world for pay equity and settlements, and we need to continue to ask what can be done better.’’
Genter says it is ‘‘extremely concerning, and illegal’’ for employers to respond to fair pay rates for women by finding other ways to underpay them.
‘‘There is much work to be done to ensure New Zealand continues to lead the way on women’s rights. In particular, we know that Ma¯ ori and Pasifika women are some of the most underpaid workers in the economy.’’
But if the gender pay gap is to be eradicated, what is the best way to achieve it?
For school teacher aides, who are well into the pay equity process with the Ministry of Education, it has meant the New
Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa working with the Government in hopes of avoiding the issues aged care staff have faced, and reaching a deal by the end of this year.
HOW IT WORKS
Each case is different, and treated on its own circumstances.
When an employer receives a pay equity claim, it must acknowledge it and notify other employees who fit the circumstances before deciding whether it will argue against it, within 65 days of the claim.
From here there are three options: the employer agrees there is a claim and a bargaining process begins; it doesn’t agree, and no further action is taken; or the claimants challenge this decision.
Disputes are resolved in a tiered approach through mediation, facilitation and court action, but can be referred back to the bargaining table at any point.
While in the bargaining process, the work is examined and measured against other occupations in male-dominated industries such as corrections, police and defence.
The ‘‘comparators’’ have to be agreed between the two parties, and there can be disagreements over which ones should be considered.
The NZEI has agreed on four comparator groups of maledominated jobs for the teacher aides’ claim and has joined its claim with those of Barnardos, the Salvation Army and centres
covered by the Early Childhood Education collective agreement.
It has been two years since the process began.
WOMEN AT WORK
Gender bias is embedded in Western industrial history. Fewer than a quarter of New Zealand’s women were in paid jobs in 1891, and those who earned were often confined to domestic services, tailoring, and shop work.
Most industries, including teaching, were male-dominated and, as women began to break into professions such as nursing and business, they were kept in low-level positions. Wages were often about half that of men working in the same professions.
However, work opportunities began to change, particularly after World War II, and more women entered teaching, nursing and clerical work, still often with less pay and fewer opportunities than their male colleagues.
New Zealand eventually passed the 1960 Government Service Equal Pay Act and the 1972 Equal Pay Act, but men’s work continued to be treated as superior to women’s.
The gender pay gap has never been rectified, according to a data release from Statistics New Zealand last week.
The numbers outlined a 9.3 per cent difference between a man and a woman’s median hourly earnings, down from 16.2 per cent in 1998.
WHAT IS PAY EQUITY?
Pay equity is when men and women receive the same pay for doing different jobs that are of equal value. A job that is of equal value is one that requires similar degrees of skills, responsibility and effort – a formula that’s agreed upon during the bargaining process of a pay equity claim.
It’s not to be confused with equal pay, which is about men and women receiving the same pay for doing the same job.
Progress towards pay equity has been slow and cumbersome, says NZEI president Lynda Stuart. It took 12 years for a settlement to be reached for education support workers, announced by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern last year.
Two years have now passed since teacher aides began their claim. Things are moving faster, but more needs to be done, Stuart says.
‘‘Finally, we’re on the cusp of being able to negotiate a settlement with the Government, and we’re very clear that we want to see it settled by Christmas.
‘‘Support staff are the glue that holds our schools together. They make a huge difference in children’s lives and are an essential part of our schooling system.
‘‘Everyone acknowledges that they are woefully undervalued at the moment, so we want to see
things addressed as soon as possible.’’
THE KRISTINE BARTLETT CASE
The 1972 Equal Pay Act ultimately compared a man and a woman in the same occupation and jobs in the same workplace, so few cases made it to court because of its narrow scope.
When aged care worker Kristine Bartlett took on Terranova Homes, demanding equal pay for work of equal value, regardless of gender, it was regarded as the first legal settlement to recognise the argument that female staff would have been paid more had the workforce been predominantly male.
The Supreme Court judgment in Bartlett’s favour ‘‘overturned how we’ve been using the act for 40 years’’, says Katherine Ravenswood, New Zealand Work Research Group associate professor at AUT.
But women have continued to bear the brunt of cost-cutting, with wages kept low because of the value society places on women in the labour market.
Ravenswood’s research found some managers’ response to the Terranova settlement was to cut workers’ hours.
A societal attitude change is needed, she says. She fears the latest bill, while trying to make things easier, could lead to a more drawn-out process for women bringing claims.
It also fails to recognise ethnic minorities and transgender people who find themselves discriminated against further within the existing gender pay gap.
‘‘The way we work in New Zealand . . . we try to get the lowest wages possible for the best quality work. We are a bit of a low-wage economy.’’
She says it is time the country recognised the value of work and funded the costs associated with boosting people’s wages accordingly.
THE BILL
The Equal Pay Amendment Bill is awaiting its second reading after being introduced in September last year. The date for the next reading is uncertain while the Government considers feedback.
If passed, it will amend the 1972 Equal Pay Act, 2000 Employment Relations Act, and the 1960 Government Service Equal Pay Act.
The idea is to eliminate and prevent discrimination against sexes in the workplace, particularly in femaledominated jobs, where women’s skills get overlooked by employers despite their having similar conditions and skill requirements to comparable male-dominated occupations.
The legislation aims to clarify exactly what pay equity is, and outline the process for addressing it. In other words, the point of the bill is to create a process for arguable claims.
But first, an employer and employee must agree that the work has been undervalued, or aligns with certain criteria such as being characterised as ‘‘women’s work’’.
The Council of Trade Unions has started a petition urging Ardern to simplify the process for claims by September 19.
It comes after criticism that some wording in the amendment bill could make it harder for women to make a claim, saying as it stands it would have made Bartlett’s case more difficult.
There are concerns that the changes impose a hierarchy of comparators, forcing women to prove merit in initiating a claim, and eliminating the redress of back pay.
CTU president Richard Wagstaff says there is a lot of work still to do to ensure it is effective in its ability to eradicate the gender pay gap.
‘‘We want some urgency. We need to make sure it’s easy to raise, negotiate, settle and ratify a claim, and access the authority or court if progress can’t be made.’’
So far, the bill has not dealt with those issues as well as it should, he says.
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Iain Leesgalloway says the bill will introduce a just and practical framework, accessible to all workers.
The last Budget set aside $1 million to assist the claims process, such as the development of online tools and resources to help improve people’s understanding of the process, as well as providing guidance and data for their claims.
‘‘Once it is law, it will be up to workers to make use of this framework.
‘‘Ensuring women are paid fairly for their work is part of creating an inclusive economy – the more people who are paid fairly, and the more people are employed, and the more their voices are heard, the more inclusive the economy is.’’