22 January 2016

Government needs to do more than mind the pay gap

The Government's weak response to gender pay gaps of up to 39 per cent in its own Ministries underlines years of inaction on fair pay for women, Labour's Associate Workplace Relations Spokesperson Sue Moroney says.

"Women’s Affairs Minister Louise Upston says she will 'look at the data' but her Ministry has had the data to look at for seven years.

“When National scrapped the Labour Department's Pay and Employment Equity Unit in 2009, comprehensive pay equity audits had been completed for all government departments.

"The Ministry of Women's Affairs was given funding and responsibility for continuing that work but successive National Ministers have, instead, left those audits and recommendations gathering dust.

"Now at least seven Ministries have larger gender pay gaps than they did in 2008.

“In subsequent years I have questioned the Women's Affairs CEO about what action they have taken with those audits - my questions have been met with blank stares and today's revelations are the result.

"National should be ashamed of its failure to address its own performance when it comes to the gender pay gap, which has widened on its watch,” Sue Moroney says.

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