Sue Moroney
Spokesperson for Women’s Affairs

6 March 2009 Media Statement

Moroney: launches petition for pay equity

Labour Spokesperson on Women's Affairs, Sue Moroney supports the call from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for Government to set a target for reducing New Zealand's gender pay gap.

She is launching a petition calling for the Government to honour pay equity investigations for school support staff and social workers, which it scrapped last week.

She announced her petition at a demonstration against the pay equity organised by Waikato unions in Hamilton today.

"They were calling for the Minister of Women's Affairs to intervene and stop her Government from being unfair to women at work and I support their call," said Sue Moroney.

The two directly-affected groups are special education support workers and social workers and they were present at the demonstration today along with others alarmed at how they are being treated. They confronted Minister of Women's Affairs Pansy Wong as she arrived to speak at a Women's symposium.

"The Government is trying to stop the implementation of fair pay for these two groups of frontline staff who are mainly women.

"It reminds me of what National did in 1990 when they scrapped pay equity legislation as soon as they were elected. In 2009 they are up to the same old tricks again.

"National are already returning to type," said Sue Moroney

ENDS

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