People's Select Committee: Thousands Of Care And Support Workers Cannot Wait For Justice

Scoop

2 days ago

Representatives from three unions will make a joint submission to the People's Select Committee today on behalf of 65,000 care and support workers whose long-standing pay equity claim was scrapped in May.
The PSA, E tū and New Zealand Nurses Organisation, Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa (NZNO) will speak on key recommendations for the sector, including reversing the Government's recent amendments, sustainable settlement funding, and broader sector reform to properly reflect the value of care and support work.
Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi Assistant Secretary, Melissa Woolley, says care and support workers were shocked and aggrieved when the Government rushed through changes to pay equity overnight.
"They were further insulted when it came to light in the past few weeks that ministers had worked to deliberately conceal the changes they were making and this was a deliberate attempt to stop the care and support workers claim because of the cost. It was also revealed that the contingency from the funded sector was gone," Woolley says.
"We are incredibly thankful that Marilyn Waring and everyone else behind the scenes at the People's Select Committee have provided this opportunity for us to formally consult on pay equity for care and support workers.
"Care and support have been waiting far too long for pay equity, and to be recognised as highly skilled workers who provide real value to their communities," says Woolley who is a former care and support worker herself and joint unions pay equity negotiator.
"The Government's changes to pay equity were a kick in the guts for these workers who are now largely on the minimum wage or close to it. They should not, and cannot, bear the brunt of bad political decisions," Woolley says.
NZNO President Anne Daniels says NZNO was one of the unions who have worked on Care and Support workers' pay equity for many years, including the 2017 Support Workers Settlement.
"We continue to work with our sister unions to see pay justice done for our 6,500 Care and Support members.
"These workers are the backbone of a caring society. Our members worked tirelessly for decades to have their mahi recognised and their skills, knowledge and responsibilities properly valued through the pay equity process.
"Care and Support workers and their whānau shouldn't have to make do with less because of this Government's shameful attack on women. They deserve fair pay for their hard mahi," Daniels says.
The 65,000 care and support workers in New Zealand have been waiting for their pay equity claim to be renewed since 2022. Their original settlement, won in 2017 by worker and E tū delegate Kristin Bartlett, expired after five years in place and has since been eroded by inflation.
E tū National Secretary Rachel Mackintosh says care and support workers are some of the lowest-paid workers in the health system, doing some of our most important work.
"The Government's refusal to deliver pay equity is a political decision to save money at the expense of women, migrants, and our most vulnerable.
"This legislation was meant to finally address very well-known discrimination based on gender. It followed the Supreme Court decision in favour of Kristine Bartlett which was a watershed moment for pay equity. Ripping this away from workers is a clear signal that they do not value women, nor any workers in women-dominated industries.
"Workers, their unions, and the wider community are completely fired up about this, and we will not sit down and quietly accept this discrimination. We'll keep fighting for pay equity - and we will win it," Mackintosh says.
The combined PSA, NZNO and E tū submission details the timeline of the care and support worker pay equity claim, which involved thousands of hours of work between workers, unions, and employers.
"Thanks to the Government's retrospective legislation, all the work that went into the pay equity claim is now in the bin, and care and support workers cannot raise a new claim until 2027," Woolley says.
"This arbitrary and cruel delay is just one reason why we're recommending to the People's Select Committee that the amendments to the Equal Pay Act should go.
"Our other recommendations are focused on the other changes to the Act: the much higher bar to prove the merit of the pay equity claim, the restrictions on finding comparators, and the fact that employers can opt out of the process without giving a reason.
"Our view is that these changes are designed to make the care and support pay equity impossible to achieve," Woolley says.