Media release: Council of Trade Unions

Progress on the path to pay equity

With the Government supporting the Pay Equity Principles the next step is to translate the theory of the Principles into reality and get women paid what they are worth.

The Principles were developed by the Joint Working Group on Pay Equity to make it easier for women to file pay equity claims with their employers rather than having to go through the courts.

“The CTU has been working with the State Services Commission to jumpstart the application of the Principles. The law changes aren’t expected until later in the year,” CTU President Richard Wagstaff said.

“Applying the Principles, before they are put into law, means that equal pay claims gets a jump-start and that working women who successfully demonstrate that they have a pay equity claim, will be able to be paid fairly,” Wagstaff said.

The two claims that will be progressed are:

• the PSA’s claim for social workers employed by the Ministry of Social Development (and from 1 April 2017, the Ministry for Vulnerable Children Oranga Tamariki); and

• the NZEI claim for education, behaviour and communication support workers employed by the Ministry of Education.

ENDS

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