CEVEP Campaign Newsletter, September 2002
Pay Equity — Keeping it on the Agenda
New Posters and Postcard
CEVEP is having a burst of spring energy. We have printed three posters and a postcard with the slogan Prepare your daughter for working life — give her less pocket money than your son
with the statistic 'After 30 years of equal pay law, women's average total weekly earnings are 23% lower than men's. (February 2002).'
We have prepared an A4 poster and postcard with Pakeha siblings, and an A4 poster and A3 poster with Maori siblings and the slogan translated.
Women's organisations and unions have been great at distributing them but we still want more out and around — work noticeboards, community noticeboards etc. If you would like copies of any, please contact info@cevep.org.nz or send your requests to CEVEP, PO Box 12361, Wellington. The costs are 20 cents per postcard, 25 cents per A4 poster and 30 cents for the A3 poster. However all donations towards the cost of the printing are very much appreciated.
CEVEP very much appreciates the assistance received in producing these posters and postcards — Sandy Connon for the photos, Becky Bliss for the design, and the children who worked hard to get just the right poses. We would also like to thank the National Advisory Council on the Employment of Women (NACEW) for funding assistance for production of the poster. We also thank the Equal Opportunities Commission in Great Britain for giving us permission to use their slogan.
Pay Equity on the NCW September Agenda
At the National Council of Women Annual Conference in Wellington in September Martha Coleman will lead a discussion on pay equity.
CEVEP website — a great campaign tool
CEVEP's website was launched in April 2001. It receives a small number of hits each day but we expect this campaign to generate more traffic.The poster and postcard have CEVEP's website address (http://www.cevep.org.nz) on it, and since the release of the postcard and poster new members have signed up via the website.
For up-to-date information and a copy of CEVEP's draft submission keep an eye on the site. Send any website comments and contributions to CEVEP, PO Box 12361, Wellington, e-mail info@cevep.org.nz. We hope that the posters and postcards will promote more traffic to our website.
It's Time to have your Say on Women's Pay TODAY!!
'Next Steps Towards Pay Equity A discussion document'
'Next Steps Towards Pay Equity' is the discussion document released in July 2000 by the Ministry of Women's Affairs to generate debate around the issue of pay equity in New Zealand. The document backgrounds pay equity in New Zealand, explains the concept of equal pay for work of equal value, and outlines some of the policy options used to progress pay equity in other countries.
Copies of the document are available from the Ministry (P O Box 10049 Wellington) and on the Ministry's website http://www.mwa.govt.nz.
Submissions on the issues raised in the document are due by 30 November 2002.
The questions asked in the document to focus submissions are:
- Do you think there are jobs or occupations in which New Zealand women are paid less than men for the same or equivalent skills?
- Can you give examples of jobs in which women's skills are relatively under-rewarded?
- What factors do you think contribute to this?
- The government currently does a number of things that can help reduce the gender pay gap.
- What else do you think could be done?
- Why do you think this could help?
- In future policy work to address the gender pay gap, what kinds of things could government do to ensure equal pay for work of equal value?
- What would be an effective approach to ensure equal pay for work of equal value for the greatest number of women?
- What would be the most effective way to ensure equal pay for work of equal value will benefit Maori women?
- What would be the most effective way to ensure equal pay for work of equal value will benefit Pacific women?
- In implementing any future policy:
- Who do you think should be responsible for assessing the equal value of women and men's jobs?
- How could compliance costs for employers and small businesses be kept low?
- If pay adjustments were indicated, how do you think these should be implemented?
CEVEP will prepare a submission to 'Next Steps Towards Pay Equity'. Organisations and individual members may wish to put in submissions as well.
CEVEP made a submission on PPL Bill
CEVEP prepared a written submission on the Parental Leave and Employment Protection (Paid Parental Leave) Amendment Bill. Our submission supported the Bill. We noted that the proposed legislation was a first step towards fulfilling New Zealand's international obligations concerning paid parental leave. We considered that the philosophy behind the proposed legislation was sound but we made some comments on practical details within the bill. Overall CEVEP considers that paid parental leave will assist women combine their role as parents with that of being in the workforce. Paid parental leave benefits parents as well as children.
The improvements that we wanted to see were in the eligibility for paid parental leave, the length of the time period being extended to fourteen weeks, the level payment needed to be linked to the cost of living and CEVEP wanted the funding provided by government to be increased. Prue Hyman and Rachel Brown appeared before the Select Committee.
Ideas for the Pay Equity Agenda
In November 2001 about 60 people met in Wellington to plan activities to advance women's employment issues for 2002. The meeting was very positive but the ideas generated have not yet made it into action.
The meeting agreed that to advance women's employment issues two issues stand out — access to childcare and women's pay. Put simply, workplaces need to value women's work and be family friendly. It was agreed to work towards free childcare and to take one or more pay equity test cases through the courts.
Past Agendas!
Pay Equity Archives
The campaigns for equal pay and more recently for equal pay for work of equal value have been going for many years — since the first NCW Conference over 100 years ago. All the campaigns created material and records. For some years these records were held at the Dan Long Library. Recently Nicola Frean, Special Librarian at the Beaglehole Room at Victoria University was able to gather these archives together and they are now held at the Beaglehole Room.
September 2002
Order Posters and Postcards
CEVEP has produced this new poster and a postcard with the slogan Prepare your daughter for working life give her less pocket money than your son
.
Copies are available by email to info@cevep.org.nz. Donation with all orders appreciated.
When you order we need the following information:
Please send
[number of] A3 posters (Maori / English) @ 30 cents each
[number of] A4 posters (Maori / English) 25 cents each
[number of] A4 posters (English) 25 cents each
[number of] postcards (English) 20 cents each
Send to:
[Name]
[Address]
[Telephone]
[Email Address]
May we add you to CEVEP's mailing list?
Send orders to : Coalition for Equal Value Equal Pay, PO Box 12361, Wellington or email info@cevep.org.nz
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.