Latest news with #EqualPayAct
NZ Herald
5 days ago
- Business
- NZ Herald
Tiny number of new pay equity claims expected – but first is ‘very close'
Last week, the Herald asked Workplace Relations Minister Brooke van Velden for an update on the number of claims brought or likely to be brought under her new regime. Van Velden's office said the matter was better handled by the agencies responsible for the claims, and forwarded the Herald's query to them. When asked whether she was happy with the way the new regime was working, van Velden said it was 'early days to see how it will roll out in practice'. 'I do believe we got the law correct,' she said. Health NZ Te Whatu Ora's funding and investment director, Jason Power, told the Herald it purchased 'services from a large number of third-party providers but we are not the employer of the workforces that deliver these contracted services'. 'We are not aware of any new pay equity claims across the third-party providers we purchase services from,' Power said. The Ministry of Education's hautū (leader), Anna Welanyk, told the Herald 'no new pay equity claims have been raised since the amendments were made to the Equal Pay Act'. She said the ministry 'has ongoing obligations under the amended Equal Pay Act to respond to and investigate new pay equity claim/s that are raised, once it's been determined the claim meets the required thresholds applying to new claims. Our responsibility to respond to new claims continues under the amended Equal Pay Act.' PSA not intending to use new law The Herald also spoke to the unions responsible for the workforces likely to take claims. Public Service Association (PSA) national secretary Fleur Fitzsimons, who ran as a Labour candidate at the last election, told the Herald the union 'had no intention to file any claims under the new amended Equal Pay Act'. Fitzsimons said the union had 'no confidence women will get equal pay through that legislation'. 'It guts the heart of pay equity. It undermines the ability for women to even be heard,' she said. She said that in some cases, the legislation barred claims from being lodged. This was the case with care and support workers' claim. That claim, which was fought in the courts and sparked the creation of the old pay equity scheme, expired at the end of 2023. In some cases, these workers are now earning the minimum wage. The new regime prevents settled claims being revisited for 10 years after they were initially settled. This means if a pay equity settlement is eroded as a result of male-dominated workforces' wages rising faster, it cannot be litigated until 10 years after the settlement. 'There isn't any ability for those women to even advance a claim under the current legislation – it's not a choice we've made, the legislation itself bans the claim,' Fitzsimons said. She said in the case of other workforces such as probation officers, library assistants, and administration and clerical workers, the union would not be taking pay equity claims but is 'seeking improvements to their pay through collective bargaining'. Nurses' union to take claims soon The New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) is taking a different approach. It had 12 claims that it took or was a party to – covering 13,200 members – extinguished by the law change. NZNO chief executive Paul Goulter told the Herald 'we decided pretty much immediately after the announcement the issue was too important for us not to pursue any chance at all of continuing pay equity claims'. 'Our members are very strongly in support of us doing that,' he said. Goulter said the Government's changes were 'intended in our view to rule out advancing pay equity claims under the guise of making it easier and more transparent'. He said employers in the funded sector, the private employers who deliver mainly government-funded services, were also keen to have pay equity established because it would help to grow the workforce. He said the union was 'very close' to lodging claims relating to Plunket and hospice workers. Goulter also raised concerns with the 10-year rule. He noted a large claim relating to nurses employed by Health NZ could not be reopened until 2033. It covered 35,000-40,000 nurses. Education union analysing law's effects Education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa is still delving into how the new regime will function. Because it was passed in mere hours under urgency, without consultation or a select committee, unions had very little time to come to grips with the way the new regime works. NZEI's national secretary Stephanie Mills said her union was still 'analysing' the new regime. 'We've asked the ministry a number of questions about how they would interpret the new act in relation to a claim or claims,' she said. Mills said many of the things her union is looking at include 'technical' problems, such as the new regime's changing of the threshold for raising a claim to one of 'merit'. The old system allowed claims to be raised if they were 'arguable'. What that means in practice is still not clear to NZEI. Asked whether the union would take a claim in future, Mills said NZEI wanted to 'keep looking'. 'We do want to do the best by members. In the end we'll have to make a call about whether we do or don't [lodge a claim]. 'In the meantime we'll be making the argument that the legislation does need to change and does need to be fixed,' she said.
Scoop
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
PSA Welcomes Mayoral Candidate's Commitment To Pay Equity
Press Release – PSA The union representing library workers at Wellington City Council welcomes mayoral candidate Andrew Little's commitment to pay equity, and encourages all local body candidates to make the same commitment. 'This is just the latest example of people across the political spectrum recognising the Government's vandalism of the Equal Pay Act as an unjust attack on women,' said Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary of the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi. 'We call on the Council to fix the undervaluation it knows is there, and deliver pay equity to these workers.' 'Local body candidates around the country have the chance to do the right thing and recognise the true value library workers bring to their communities.' 'But this is no substitution for legislation that guarantees pay equity in full, with provisions for maintaining it. We will keep fighting to reverse the Government's changes.' The PSA lodged the library workers' pay equity claim with Auckland, Tauranga, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin councils in 2019. Since then, the PSA worked with the councils in good faith to reach a settlement. Library workers were one of the pay equity claims that was close to being settled before being cancelled by last month's amendments to the Equal Pay Act.
Scoop
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
PSA Welcomes Mayoral Candidate's Commitment To Pay Equity
Press Release – PSA 'Local body candidates around the country have the chance to do the right thing and recognise the true value library workers bring to their communities,' said Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary of the Public Service Association Te Pkenga Here … The union representing library workers at Wellington City Council welcomes mayoral candidate Andrew Little's commitment to pay equity, and encourages all local body candidates to make the same commitment. 'This is just the latest example of people across the political spectrum recognising the Government's vandalism of the Equal Pay Act as an unjust attack on women,' said Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary of the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi. 'We call on the Council to fix the undervaluation it knows is there, and deliver pay equity to these workers.' 'Local body candidates around the country have the chance to do the right thing and recognise the true value library workers bring to their communities.' 'But this is no substitution for legislation that guarantees pay equity in full, with provisions for maintaining it. We will keep fighting to reverse the Government's changes.' The PSA lodged the library workers' pay equity claim with Auckland, Tauranga, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin councils in 2019. Since then, the PSA worked with the councils in good faith to reach a settlement. Library workers were one of the pay equity claims that was close to being settled before being cancelled by last month's amendments to the Equal Pay Act.
Scoop
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
PSA Welcomes Mayoral Candidate's Commitment To Pay Equity
The union representing library workers at Wellington City Council welcomes mayoral candidate Andrew Little's commitment to pay equity, and encourages all local body candidates to make the same commitment. "This is just the latest example of people across the political spectrum recognising the Government's vandalism of the Equal Pay Act as an unjust attack on women," said Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary of the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi. "We call on the Council to fix the undervaluation it knows is there, and deliver pay equity to these workers." "Local body candidates around the country have the chance to do the right thing and recognise the true value library workers bring to their communities." "But this is no substitution for legislation that guarantees pay equity in full, with provisions for maintaining it. We will keep fighting to reverse the Government's changes." The PSA lodged the library workers' pay equity claim with Auckland, Tauranga, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin councils in 2019. Since then, the PSA worked with the councils in good faith to reach a settlement. Library workers were one of the pay equity claims that was close to being settled before being cancelled by last month's amendments to the Equal Pay Act.
Scoop
09-06-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Library Association Congratulate Christchurch City Council For Recognising Pay Equity For Library Workers
Press Release – LIANZA Andrew Rutledge, General Manager, Citizens and Community at Christchurch City Council, announced that library shelvers, library assistants and librarians would be receiving a pay increase. Pay rates are expected to increase by 10-14%. The Library and Information Association of NZ Aotearoa (LIANZA) congratulate Christchurch City Council for announcing a pay increase for Council library workers. The association say that this is great news after the recent dismantling of Pay Equity Legislation in May. 'We know that library workers are very upset with the government for the sudden change in pay equity legislation, which sees library assistants starting from ground zero despite their claims being lodged six years ago,' says Laura Marshall, LIANZA executive director. 'So, Christchurch City Council's acknowledgement of the need for fair pay and the historic underpayment of library workers based on their gender is encouraging. 'We'd love to see other councils being as proactive in recognising this historic underpayment.' The Christchurch City Council was party to one of the six claims made six years ago, along with six different councils, on the basis that the work of librarians and library assistants is historically and currently undervalued, as it is predominantly performed by women. On May 30, Andrew Rutledge, General Manager, Citizens and Community at Christchurch City Council, made an announcement on behalf of the organisation relating to the discontinuation of the shelvers and library assistants' gender-based pay equity claim. This is a result of the government's changes to the Equal Pay Act in May. Andrew Rutledge announced that library shelvers, library assistants and librarians would be receiving a pay increase. Pay rates are expected to increase by 10-14%. In making this announcement, Andrew Rutlege acknowledged that the librarian role has historically been a female-dominated role (80% of library workers are women) and, in all likelihood, would qualify for consideration under the Amended Equal Pay Act. 'We would like to acknowledge Christchurch City Council's proactive stance in implementing these changes and hope it impacts on the pay rates for all library workers in New Zealand. 'And we'd like to see this start the ball rolling in other councils.' LIANZA say that while these increases are unlikely to meet comparator levels of pay, they are higher than the average pay rate of a library assistant – around $57,000 a year. 'It's good to see this recognition of the disparity many library workers face with their pay. They deserve to be paid a fair wage. 'Many library workers have spent 4-6 years in tertiary education and are undertaking highly skilled and demanding roles.' LIANZA says librarians are information managers, researchers and programme deliverers. They manage a massive public resource, and sizable budgets aimed at educating and enhancing the knowledge and skill levels of New Zealanders across the community and various sectors. Selecting, purchasing, and maintaining these assets requires skills and a wide knowledge base. In many libraries, it also means dealing with stressed community members, teaching and providing programmes, being digital enablers and providing social as well as education and knowledge support. Evidence collected for the library assistant claims revealed that the skills required for this work are categorised into 22 distinct areas, ranging from information technology to communication, cultural sensitivity, legal expertise, teaching skills, and financial management. With responsibilities being extremely broad-ranging, they include responsibilities for the well-being and safety of others, information technology, management, books and collections, and events and programmes. Working conditions are very busy, emotionally demanding, and involve flexibility to switch rapidly between different tasks, as well as exposure to infection. A high level of effort is required by Library Assistants, including constant vigilance, no downtime, and physical effort to move large numbers of books. In 2023, a pay equity claim for school librarians was settled and which delivered10- 40% pay increases for many.
