CTU media release

28 June 2009

Pay Equity rally means business for Wellington retailers

Wellington businesses are showing their support for women's pay equity by offering a discount - for women only - to coincide with the Pay Equity rally at Parliament on Tuesday 30 June. Because women are paid around 12 per cent less than men the businesses are all offering a 12 per cent discount to women for anything from clothes to coffee on the day.

Women will be able to buy discounted wine, flowers, hair products and books as well with Andrea Moore, Unity Books, Hair Essentials, Flowers on Featherston, Frutti clothing, Wineseeker, cafés Neo, Deluxe and Midnight Espresso, and Parliament's very own watering hole the Backbencher all joining in to compensate women for the earnings gap.

Tuesday's rally will involve a wide coalition of groups including Business and Professional Women, Rural Women, the Human Rights Commission, the Womens' Studies Association, trade unions, and students' associations. The groups are coming together to protest at the continuing inequity between women's and men's pay in New Zealand after more than 36 years of equal pay legislation.

CTU Vice-president Richard Wagstaff said: "It is fantastic that retailers are prepared to come out and offer their support for pay equity by cutting prices in such tough trading times as these. It shows just how widespread the feeling is that women's pay equity is an important issue and that it is past time we saw some real action on it."

ENDS

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