19 June 2017

Another chance to pay women more

The Government should step up to ensure mental health support workers are paid more, the Green Party said today.

“Mental health support workers do important and difficult work in our communities. But because the workforce is largely female, they are not paid enough,' said Green Party women’s spokesperson Jan Logie.

The PSA and E Tū unions have lodged an equal pay claim on behalf of mental health support workers, following the historic care and support equal pay settlement, which didn’t include mental health support workers.

“Unions are leading the fight to see women paid better, but wouldn’t it be great for the Government to be proactive to ensure women get a fair deal?

“The mental health sector is under sustained pressure on all fronts. People working in mental health shouldn’t have to keep being underpaid, as well as dealing with more patients and less resources.

“It’s wrong for women to be earning so much less than men in 2017. We need a Government committed to fixing this problem,” Ms Logie said.

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