Health sector unions are calling for New Zealand to follow a landmark Australian decision awarding substantial pay rises to a female-dominated workforce.
The Fair Work Australia tribunal recently agreed that gender had a role in the pay gap between the community and disability services sector and similar work in state or local government.
The landmark decision calls for pay rates under the sector’s award to rise by 19 to 41 per cent over an eight-year period on top of any annual wage rise.
The Australian Nursing Federation applauded the move but also called for the decision to pave the way for similar rises for Australia’s underpaid aged care workforce.
“This ruling has been hailed as a victory for pay equality for women, but the fact remains that in the aged care sector, where women make up more than 90 per cent of the workforce, nursing and care staff are still getting paid significantly paid less than they deserve,” said the Federation’s national secretary Lee Thomas.
Nano Tunnicliff, the president of the New Zealand Nurses Organisation noted that the equal pay case was supported by the Gillard government and was hopeful the New Zealand government would take a leaf out of Gillard’s book and support “equal pay for equal value”, particularly in the aged care sector
“There is never going to be a “right time” to address the gender pay gap, so we at NZNO encourage the Government to take a principled stand and start funding those who care for our most vulnerable citizens properly. If Australia can address the gender pay gap in the midst of a global recession then so can New Zealand.”
Meanwhile the Public Service Association national secretary Richard Wagstaff said New Zealand hadn’t a hope of catching up with Australia until the government took action on pay equity.
“By not taking action the Government has failed to prevent the situation where people will continue to leave for Australia in search of better paid work,” Wagstaff said. “Even the Ministry of Women’s Affairs appears to have dropped the issue of pay equity if its briefing to the incoming Minister is anything to go by.”
Wagstaff said the Fair Work Australia decision was being seen across the Tasman as the most important equal pay case since 1972, when equal pay for work of equal value was first formally recognised, and said the New Zealand government had to make equally historic decisions on pay equity.
