Adopt the pay equity principles and make them work!

The Campaign for Equal Value Equal Pay (CEVEP) welcomes the recommendations of the tripartite working group (employer/union/government) on pay equity principles. Government Ministers yesterday made them public and said that government would respond to them shortly. ‘The sooner the better and the more positive the response, the better’, said CEVEP spokesperson Prue Hyman.

Minister Woodhouse said: “This is a very important issue, and while a lot of progress has been made through this process, it’s important we take the time to get it right.” Not too much time - women in female dominated work have been waiting 44 years since the 1972 Equal Pay Act for such work to be properly valued. Kristine Bartlett’s case and the Human Rights Commission’s Caring Counts study have shown that essential caring work is shamefully underpaid – and the demand for such female workers will grow with the ageing population.

The Working Group has done well, with employers and government representatives largely agreeing the principles drafted by the unions. Business NZ’s, Phil O’Reilly, praised the use of bargaining and good faith provisions – now the employers need to front up and use them properly. Unions together with women and women’s groups have campaigned long and hard for equal pay for work of equal value with much employer resistance.

It is time for the government, as state sector funder and employer, to step up and accept the need for pay equity and not to hide behind the cost of implementation and so deny women fair treatment. Scaremongering over the costs ignores the increased productivity and lower costs of hiring and training that occur with decent pay levels.

These pay equity principles will help all involved in negotiations with the practical steps in evaluating the work against male dominated occupations – they aren’t perfect in CEVEP’s view, but they are good enough to guide the Bartlett and other cases without further delays.

Pay women their due!

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