NZEI to seek legal redress over pay discrimination for education support workers
31 August 2015
NZEI says it intends to take legal action on behalf of education support workers over gender discrimination.
“We welcome the initiative by the country’s midwives to file for court action over pay discrimination. And we’ve also
been watching developments in the case of Lower Hutt caregiver Kristine Bartlett who last year won in the Supreme Court
against her employers over pay discrimination,” says NZEI National Secretary Paul Goulter.
“The Government has been ignoring this human rights issue for far too long and we will now pursue our case through the
courts.”
“More than six years ago an independent job evaluation report by the Pay Equity Commission showed that when compared
with the male dominated job of corrections officer, education support workers employed by the Ministry of Education were
paid as much as $8 an hour less.
"The incoming government sidelined the report, saying the pay issue would be dealt with through bargaining rounds.
“There has been no real movement, and in fact what we’re seeing across the workforce in New Zealand is growing inequity
and female-dominated workforces are suffering the most.
“We have given the Government plenty of time to tackle this issue and we will now follow the path of the midwives and
Kristine Bartlett, and seek redress through the legal system."