NZ News
'Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater', says pay equity lobby.
13 February 2004
New Zealand's leading pay equity lobby group, the Coalition for Equal Value Equal Pay (CEVEP) is calling on the government to put a hold on plans to repeal the 1972 Equal Pay Act. Read the press release. (35 Kb Microsoft Word file, virus checked as at 23 February 2004.)
Can the Equal Pay Act 1972 be used for Equal Value claims?
February 2004
CEVEP has prepared two questions and answers documents about the 1972 Act as well as the proposed Employment Relations Law Reform Bill.
Read about the Equal Pay Act 1972 (50 Kb) and the Employment Relations Law Reform Bill (40 Kb) in relation to equal pay concerns. (Both documents require Microsoft Word and were virus checked as at 23 February 2004.)
CEVEP's view on the Employment Relations Law Reform Bill
19 February 2004
CEVEP has provided a draft of CEVEP's submission to the Select Committee examining this proposed legislation to assist other individuals or organisations in writing their submissions to the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee. Read the draft submission online or download the draft submission(downloads a 100 Kb Microsoft Word file, virus checked as at 23 February 2004.).
CEVEP Campaign Newsletter
CEVEP's Response to the Government's proposal to repeal the Equal Pay Act
January 2004
The current Government proposals are a massive backward step. We should keep the current two pieces of legislation until they can be comprehensively improved. What New Zealand needs is an effective, transparent process for both making and enforcing Equal Pay and Equal Pay for work of Equal Value claims. The proposals do not provide this.
Read the Newsletter
Microsoft Word Newsletter (310 Kb Microsoft Word file, virus checked as at 23 February 2004
Newsletter as Acrobat PDF file (35Kb PDF file, needs Acrobat Reader software)
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The previous newsletters dated July 2002 and July 2003 are available in the archive.
Report of the public submissions to Next Steps towards Pay Equity
This report follows on from an earlier discussion paper released by the Ministry of Women's Affairs. The discussion paper sought feedback about how to progress pay equity in New Zealand. This had led to the establishment of a Taskforce which will analyse how factors influencing pay and employment equity apply in the public sector. A five-year plan of action to address these factors will also be developed. The report is available online (285 Kb download) as a PDF.
Mahi Orite, Utu Tokeke: Pay Equity for Women
Published by the Ministry of Women's Affairs in September, this booklet considers pay equity from the perspective of Maori women. It asks whether Maori women's skills are being valued and also considers the type of employment most commonly held by Maori women. Contact the Ministry of Women's Affairs, PO Box 10-049, Wellington, e-mail mwa@mwa.govt.nz, for copies of this title.
Students file historic human rights claim against loans
Women students filed a historic claim with the Human Rights Commission on 3 September 2003. In a New Zealand University Students' Association press release, the National Women's Rights Officer explains how the student loan scheme discriminates against women as due to lower lifetime earnings, women pay nearly 20% more for a bachelor's degree because of high interest payments.
New research shows debt deepens nursing crisis
In June 2003, the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) and the New Zealand University Students' Association released a study titled 'The Impact of student debt on nurses: an investigation' (4.7 Mb download, PDF). This report revealed that nurses' student debt is adding to the workforce crisis in the health sector. Surveying 376 nurses on the effect of debt on their careers, financial decisions and family life, the report shows how student loans and low wages means many nurses are struggling to get by.
Occupational patterns for employed New Zealand women
This report published by the Ministry of Women's Affairs in May 2003 looks at occupational patterns for women using 2001 Census data. The pattern of occupational segregation by gender is a persistent trend within the labour market as women tend to work in a narrower range of occupations than do men. This in turn has implications for pay equity and women's value within the labour market. The Occupational patterns for employed New Zealand women report is a 175 Kb download (PDF).
NZNO makes the case for a significant pay increase for nurses
The New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) Backgrounder (155 Kb PDF) released in March 2003 makes the case for a significant rise in the basic pay of nurses and midwives employed by the New Zealand's 21 District Health Boards. This backgrounder shows that when countries such as Canada and the United Kingdom set out to properly assess nurses' value, the improvements in pay have been considerable. It concludes that the gap between current rates and fair rates ranges from $7,000 to $19,000 depending on where nurses are based and their nursing experience.
PSA Pay and Employment Equity Symposium — 7 March 2003
Opening speech from Margaret Wilson — Minister of Labour
Speech from Ruth Dyson — Minister of Women's Affairs
Additional resources from this symposium are available on the PSA's website.
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Email CEVEP at info@cevep.org.nz
This webpage: http://www.cevep.org.nz/history/index.html
Last reviewed February 2004. This website created by First Bite of the Apple.