Transcript For a better working life - New Zealand Public Service

PSA Pay Equity
Campaign
Congress 2014
100% by 2020
PSA has set a target of pay
equity for women by 2020
Pay equity - removing barriers and
discrimination around pay for all members
• Current PSA focus - the gender pay gap
• PSA Runanga and PSA Pasifika and Deaf &
Disabled Networks are identifying,
challenging and closing pay gaps affecting
their members
• Double whammy discrimination
gender pay gap in NZ
• about 13% across the NZ
workforce and
• around 14% in the public
service
• The gender pay gap exists because
women are undervalued in their
work and paid less than if they were
men
• Some men are also disadvantaged
the pay gap happens because:
• jobs mainly done by women are not fully paid for the
skills because it is mainly women doing these jobs –
this means both men and women doing these jobs
are undervalued
• women tend to be appointed at lower rates on the
pay scale when they start a job
• women don’t move up the pay scale at the same rate
as men under discretionary pay systems
Equal Pay Act 1972
• Equal Pay Act has given our current pay equity
campaign a focus and a surge of enthusiasm – success
of Kristine Bartlett’s case in using the 1972 Equal Pay
Act.
• If Terranova case upheld – under the Equal Pay Act:
1000s of workers are currently underpaid
because their jobs are done mainly by women
Employment Court can rule on a range of pay
equity cases
Female dominated work
• PSA members in CPS sector (care and support
workers) do jobs which are similar to
Kristine’s.
• Specialist job evaluation looked at the female
dominated community support worker job
and found a male dominated job requiring
similar skills and qualifications.
• The comparator = Corrections Officers (earn +
$8 more per hour)
Pay equity rate
PSA bargaining
Corrections Officers pay scale = the pay
equity rate = what our care and support
workers are worth = 100%
Living Wage, pay parity or pay equity?
Pay Equity
Pay parity
Living
Wage
$18.80
about $20
L3 $26.05
Getting to Pay Equity
Organising
members
+ community
support
+ employer
support
+ legal case
increased
government
funding
better pay and
conditions for
PSA members
Sleepover and Travel cases
Organising
members
+ community
support
+ employer
support
+ legal case
increased
government
funding
better pay and
conditions for
PSA members
yeah…but…
I believe I’m worth 100%
• BUT
• Can my employer afford to pay it?
• Can the NZ economy afford pay equity?
The economic case for Pay Equity*
Can NZ afford not to pay equitable wages?
*Acknowledgements to Prue Hyman and Bill Rosenberg for
their help
Cost to the government
• E.g. $8 extra per hour CPS pay equity claim
•
•
•
•
•
The government will fund
$8 up front
but
$2 back in tax
$1.20 back in gst
$2.15 average abatement of government benefits (NZ
Treasury paper)
• That leaves $3.64 actual additional cost to
government
Pay equity will not be a cost to the NZ
economy
It will be an economic stimulant that will repay the
taxpayer many times over in:
 Increased productivity
 Improved services
 A drop in rates of child poverty and its ongoing
costs to society
 Increased consumer spending
 Growth in businesses
 More jobs
• US Institute for Women’s Policy Research 2012
estimated
equal pay for women would increase the US GDP
by 2.9%
• The failure to pay women fairly results in the
misallocation of human capital and
contributes to women working at less
productive pursuits than they otherwise
would, thus holding back economic growth
• Hartmann, Hayes, Clark, US Institute for Women’s Policy Research
• Equal pay would reduce poverty by
half for families with a working
woman
• Hartmann, Hayes, Clark, US Institute for Women’s Policy Research
• Our question for employers and
government
• What should have a higher spending
priority than pay equity?
• Become a PSA Pay Equity Advocate
• Pay Equity Advocates are PSA members, male and
female, who are the champions of pay equity in big
and little ways in their individual workplaces and
homes
• add your voice to PSA members’ fight for equal pay
and receive regular updates on the Worth 100% PSA
Pay Equity campaign
• We are all worth 100%
• Pay Equity will be a driver for a better
brighter NZ
• Pay Equity is our basic human right