Pay Equity Improvement Supported

BusinessNZ supports amending the pay equity process to make it more transparent, evidence-based, and more able to achieve robust settlements.

BusinessNZ Chief Executive Katherine Rich says the current process is bringing large anomalies between the public and private sectors, in effect leading to new equity problems - between those employed in the public sector and those in the private sector.

"Increases in public health sector remuneration have created difficulties in the private sector where they can’t afford those pay rates. Where those private sector employers receive government funding for some services, it is not enough to cover the contracted services they provide. As a result, they are losing staff, suffering from industrial action and face problems in delivering their contracted work.

"These outcomes indicate that the pay equity process needs attention.

"Current problems include unclear evidence for some pay equity claims, a lack of transparency around choice of comparators for the pay equity process, and insufficient incentives for the bargaining parties to resolve pay equity claims themselves, without recourse to the government.

"BusinessNZ supports a review of the settings for pay equity claims, in the interests of fairness and a more balanced economy," Mrs Rich said.

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