Library Association Congratulate Christchurch City Council For Recognising Pay Equity For Library Workers
The Library and Information Association of NZ Aotearoa (LIANZA) congratulate Christchurch City Council for announcing a pay increase for Council library workers.
The association say that this is great news after the recent dismantling of Pay Equity Legislation in May.
'We know that library workers are very upset with the government for the sudden change in pay equity legislation, which sees library assistants starting from ground zero despite their claims being lodged six years ago,' says Laura Marshall, LIANZA executive director.
'So, Christchurch City Council's acknowledgement of the need for fair pay and the historic underpayment of library workers based on their gender is encouraging.
'We'd love to see other councils being as proactive in recognising this historic underpayment.'
The Christchurch City Council was party to one of the six claims made six years ago, along with six different councils, on the basis that the work of librarians and library assistants is historically and currently undervalued, as it is predominantly performed by women.
On May 30, Andrew Rutledge, General Manager, Citizens and Community at Christchurch City Council, made an announcement on behalf of the organisation relating to the discontinuation of the shelvers and library assistants' gender-based pay equity claim. This is a result of the government's changes to the Equal Pay Act in May.
Andrew Rutledge announced that library shelvers, library assistants and librarians would be receiving a pay increase. Pay rates are expected to increase by 10-14%.
In making this announcement, Andrew Rutlege acknowledged that the librarian role has historically been a female-dominated role (80% of library workers are women) and, in all likelihood, would qualify for consideration under the Amended Equal Pay Act.
'We would like to acknowledge Christchurch City Council's proactive stance in implementing these changes and hope it impacts on the pay rates for all library workers in New Zealand.
'And we'd like to see this start the ball rolling in other councils.'
LIANZA say that while these increases are unlikely to meet comparator levels of pay, they are higher than the average pay rate of a library assistant - around $57,000 a year.
'It's good to see this recognition of the disparity many library workers face with their pay. They deserve to be paid a fair wage.
'Many library workers have spent 4-6 years in tertiary education and are undertaking highly skilled and demanding roles.'
LIANZA says librarians are information managers, researchers and programme deliverers. They manage a massive public resource, and sizable budgets aimed at educating and enhancing the knowledge and skill levels of New Zealanders across the community and various sectors.
Selecting, purchasing, and maintaining these assets requires skills and a wide knowledge base. In many libraries, it also means dealing with stressed community members, teaching and providing programmes, being digital enablers and providing social as well as education and knowledge support.
Evidence collected for the library assistant claims revealed that the skills required for this work are categorised into 22 distinct areas, ranging from information technology to communication, cultural sensitivity, legal expertise, teaching skills, and financial management.
With responsibilities being extremely broad-ranging, they include responsibilities for the well-being and safety of others, information technology, management, books and collections, and events and programmes.
Working conditions are very busy, emotionally demanding, and involve flexibility to switch rapidly between different tasks, as well as exposure to infection. A high level of effort is required by Library Assistants, including constant vigilance, no downtime, and physical effort to move large numbers of books.
In 2023, a pay equity claim for school librarians was settled and which delivered10- 40% pay increases for many.
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