TEU women’s vice-president Alex Sims said it is forty years since the Equal Pay Act 1972 was passed, yet women continue to be paid less than men for doing the same type of work, and occupations that are dominated by women are less valued and lower paid than equivalent male dominated occupations.

“Indeed, far from the gap between men’s and women’s earnings closing, the latest Quarterly Employment Survey shows that the pay gap between men and women has grown by 28 cents per hour in the last year.”

Associate Professor Sims says the Quarterly Employment Survey cannot be dismissed as a mere blip.

“In the past nine quarters, the male ordinary time wage has increased by a greater percentage than the female ordinary time wage on seven occasions; only twice did the female ordinary wage increase at a higher rate than the male wage.”

CTU Women’s Council Co-convenor Suzanne McNabb welcomes the Members Bill to extend paid parental leave to six months and congratulates Labour’s Sue Moroney on having it pulled from the Ballot today.
Suzanne McNabb says “Paid Parental Leave has clearly not been a priority for this government to date, but is an issue of great importance for New Zealand women and unions. It is good news today that this Bill has been selected – we look forward to the opportunity to campaign behind the issue and to paid parental leave being back on the political agenda.”

“We know from a number of evaluations that 14 weeks PPL is too short.  People are returning back to work early because of economic pressures and extending PPL would certainly remove some of these pressures and allow parents time with their newborn baby in those crucial first months. There are strong and proven health and employment reasons for having a longer paid parental leave. The goal of PPL is to support both maternal and health of the baby, but current length of paid leave in New Zealand doesn’t do this adequately.”

“New Zealand currently lagging behind the OECD in PPL entitlement – increasing it from 14 weeks to 26 would bring us into line with other OECD countries. The length of leave needs to be extended to at least to six months, which is the international recommendation on exclusive breast feeding.”

“This Members Bill provides opportunity for movement on the length of paid parental leave, for which there is very strong support, and provides the Government with opportunity to make some long overdue changes,” said Suzanne McNabb.

ENDS

for further information contact:

Suzanne McNabb – CTU Women’s Council Co-convenor
021995013

Posted via email from TEU

Posted via email from TEU

Welcome to the TEU National Women’s Committee, Te Kahurangi Māreikura (NWC) Newsletter

This newsletter:

• provides information to people who are thinking of applying for flexible working arrangements (or have had requests for flexible working arrangements turned down);
• provides a background to the NWC;
• introduces TEU’s women members to the members of the NWC;
• tells you about upcoming events for women TEU members;
• highlights nominations to the NWC for 2013; and an immediate casual vacancy

Flexible working arrangements

Since 1 July 2008 employees who have caring responsibilities have had the “right to request” flexible working arrangements under Part 6AA of the Employment Relations (Flexible Working Arrangements) Amendment Act 2007. For a good guide to making a request see http://dol.govt.nz/er/bestpractice/worklife/flexibleworkguide/page1.asp.
Note: We advise making your request using the form on that website (there is a link to the form near the bottom of the guide). Also be sure to read “Checklist – How to help your employer consider your request”, which is available athttp://dol.govt.nz/er/bestpractice/worklife/flexibleworkguide/checklist-how-to-help.asp.
While the employer does not have to accept the request – there are grounds upon which the request can be denied – there have been occasions when requests have been improperly turned down.
If your employer turns down your request for flexible working arrangements the best thing to do is to contact your TEU branch organiser immediately, and they will assist you in approaching the employer. While there is no guarantee that the organiser will succeed in obtaining flexible working arrangements for you, often the employer changes his or her mind once an organiser gets involved. (To find you branch organiser, go tohttp://teu.ac.nz/- on the right hand side click on the find your “Find your branch” and a list of all the institutions will come up – click on your institution and you will be provided with the contact details of the organizer for your institution.)

Background to Te Kahurangi Māreikura, the NWC

The NWC comprises women elected by women members of the TEU and is supported by the TEU’s Women’s Officer (Suzanne McNabb). There are four general/allied/professional staff positions and four academic positions, Te Toi Ahurangi representative and the Women’s Vice President (VP) . The NWC meets three times a year at the National Office in Wellington. The NWC had its first meeting on 17 February and the next two meetings for 2012 are on 8 June and 7 September.

The NWC is elected by women members to represent their views and further the interests of women in the tertiary sector. If you have any issues you want addressed  by the NWC or any other feedback, please contact any one of the NWC or your branch women’s representative who will pass it onto a member of the NWC .

The role of the NWC is set out at http://teu.ac.nz/2011/01/role-of-the-national-women%E2%80%99s-committee-te-kahurangi-mareikura/

Members of the NWC

The Current members of the NWC and their contact details are available athttp://teu.ac.nz/2008/12/teu-national-womens-committee-tkm/.

Upcoming Events

International Women’s Dayis being celebrated on 8 March 2012 and TEU branches throughout New Zealand are organising a number of events. The following events are planned and no doubt more are in the final stages of planning and will be advised to women members at those institutions:

Victoria women – morning tea, Hunter Common Room
Waikato branch are holding a paper bag lunch with women encouraged to bring something along representing their culture
University of Auckland – morning tea, level 5 social bridge, Business School
CTU Wellington is holding a gathering from 4.30-6.30 with a focus on domestic workers and the ILO Convention C189 – TEU women invited

You will find a guide to organising an event here teu.posterous.com/organising-a-coffee-cake-and-chat-session

In addition, women’s fiestas will be held later in the year – provisionally at Bay of Plenty Polytechnic in Tauranga and at Unitec in Auckland.  The fiestas are a fun opportunity for women members to get together, and provide professional development. For details of previous fiestas see teu.ac.nz/2010/08/nmitwomensfiesta/and teu.ac.nz/2009/08/teu-auckland-women%E2%80%99s-fiesta/.   More information will be provided once all the details have been confirmed.
Promotions workshopshave been held for Massey academic women at their three campuses in January and February this year. One is planned for Victoria in late March/April.

Nominations for 2013-2014

The term of the elected four general/allied/professional staff positions and four academic members of the current NWC will finish at the end of this year. A call for nominations will be made prior to the 31 July 2012 for a two-year term.

If you or anyone else is interested in being a NWC member please think about being nominated and standing for election. It would be good if those interested let Suzanne McNabb Suzanne.McNabb@teu.ac.nz  know now so that she can give you a gentle reminder when the call for nominations goes out.

The NWC wants TEU members from a broad range of institutions and regions so it can represent members’ views well. Ideally the NWC has representation from universities, polytechnics, wānanga, REAPs and other TEIs, as well as representation from both the North and South Islands.

Casual Vacancy 2012

Fran Richardson from Whitireia has recently resigned from the NWC as she has obtained a position at Charles Darwin University – congratulations and many thanks to Fran for her contribution not only to the NWC but also to members of her branch. We wish her all the best.

This means there is a casual vacancy which is determined by the NWC. If you are interested please contact Alex or Suzanne. We are especially keen to see another woman from the ITP sector.

TEU National Women’s Committee, Te Kahurangi Māreikura

CTU President, Helen Kelly said “The Ministers of Labour and Women’s Affairs have told us that new legislation is not needed because workers can already find out pay information by asking a Labour Inspector to investigate a complaint. We do not believe inspectors have the capacity to do this role and think that if workers are able to have the information first – then complaints to the inspectors will be based on knowledge of pay inequality rather than relying on the inspectors in the first instance to inspect all workplaces. However the Minister has said the current system will work and we are going to test it!”

“We’re not aware of anyone ever using the mechanism that the Ministers say exists – but that needs to be demonstrated”.

Tomorrow is the last day to submit petitions. So far TEU branches at Waiariki Institute of Technology, the University of Otago and the University of Waikato have all submitted petitions. If TEU members at other branches wish to submit a petition, either individually or as a group they should contact their branch women’s representative.

The last century has seen a transformation in women’s legal rights, with countries around the globe expanding the scope of women’s legal entitlements. Some of these legal entitlements, such as women’s right to equal pay for work of equal value, have been enshrined in Conventions of the International Labour Organization.

International Labour Organization (ILO)

The ILO (www.ilo.org) is the UN agency responsible for drawing up and overseeing international labour standards, backed up by a supervisory system based on regular government reports. It is unique in being a tripartite organisation of governments, employers and workers.

International labour standards have grown into a comprehensive system of instruments on work and social policy, backed by a supervisory system that is unique at the international level and that helps to ensure that countries implement the conventions they ratify.

Once a country has ratified an ILO convention, it is obliged to report regularly on measures it has taken to implement it. These reports are examined by the ILO Committee of Experts, and open for comments from workers’ and employers’ organisations. A selection of observations is discussed at the ILO Conference.

ILO Equality Conventions

In 1951, the International Labour Conference adopted the ILO Convention 100 on Equal Remuneration; and in 1958 the ILO Convention 111 on Discrimination in Employment and Occupation. These Conventions have been ratified by 168 and 169 countries respectively.

Text of the Conventions
C-100 (Equal Remuneration): http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/cgi-lex/convde.pl?C100
C-111 (Discrimination): http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/cgi-lex/convde.pl?C111

Being two of the eight “Fundamental ILO Conventions”, every ILO member state is obliged to follow the principles expressed in the Conventions on Equal Remuneration and Discrimination in Employment and Occupation. Every two years, governments have to submit a report explaining the measures they have taken to effectively apply the Convention.

Schedule for reports: http://webfusion.ilo.org/public/db/standards/normes/schedule/index.cfm.cfm?lang=EN

 Other ILO Conventions pertaining to gender equality:

• C156 Workers with Family Responsibilities, 1981 (ratified: 41 countries)
• C175 Part-Time Work, 1994 (ratified: 13 countries)
• C177 Home Work, 1996 (ratified: 7 countries)
• C183 Maternity Protection, 2000 (ratified: 21 countries)
• C189 Domestic Workers, 2011 (new convention, no ratifications yet)

Trade Unions and ILO Equality Conventions

Although laws for gender equality exist on paper for most of the world’s women, they often do not translate into real equality and justice. Through advocacy and legal action on the national, regional and international levels, trade unions can contribute to closing this implementation gap.

“Equal Pay for Work of Equal Value” – What does that mean?

• The term “equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value” refers to rates of remuneration established without discrimination based on sex.
• The implementation of the ILO convention 100 involves job comparison.
• There are methods to assess, identify and objectively compare the relative value of work.
• It is necessary to develop job evaluation systems to avoid prejudices or gender stereotypes.

ILO Step-by-Step Guide for Gender-Neutral Job Evaluation for Equal Pay: http://www.ilo.org/ wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_norm/—declaration/documents/publication/wcms_101325.pdf

Discrimination in Employment and Occupation – What does that mean?

• The Convention addresses discrimination based on race, colour, national extraction, ethnicity/ indigenous and tribal peoples, sex, religion, political opinion and social origin.
• Discrimination occurs when any distinction, exclusion or preference is made which has a negative effect on the enjoyment of equality of opportunity or treatment in employment and occupation.

Trade Union Advocacy for Proactive Laws

So-called “proactive” laws make the implementation of gender equality in public and private organizations compulsory. Generally, a “proactive” law is characterized by the following elements:

• It applies to all employers meeting certain criteria (size of workforce, for example).
• It imposes results-based obligations on these employers, within a specified time period.
• It specifies the main methodological criteria to be used to achieve these results.
• It is carried out in a joint effort by the employer and employee representatives.

ILO Supervisory System

Organisations representing employers and workers play an essential role in the system of international labour standards.

• The regular government reports on the implementation of the Equal Remuneration Convention must be submitted for review and comment to employer and worker organisations in the country.
• These organisations can also supply relevant information directly to the ILO.
• They can initiate representations for violations of ILO conventions in accordance with procedures under Article 24 of the ILO Constitution.
• Employer and worker delegates to the International Labour Conference can also file complaints against member states under Article 26 of the ILO Constitution.

Find more information on the ILO Supervisory System in the EI Trade Union Rights Manual:

http://ei-ie.org/en/websections/content_detail/3279 and contact EI for support: equality@ei-ie.org

Further Reading

Gender equality at the heart of decent work (2009): http://www.ilo.org/ wcmsp5/groups/public/@ed_norm/@relconf/documents/meetingdocument/wcms_105119.pdf

Equality at work: the continuing challenge (2011): http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/ @HYPERLINK “http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/%20@ed_norm/@relconf/documents/meetingdocument/wcms_154779.pdf”ed_normHYPERLINK “http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/%20@ed_norm/@relconf/documents/meetingdocument/wcms_154779.pdf”/@relconf/documents/meetingdocument/wcms_154779.pdf

via Education International 

In the chapter examining “Gender differences in employment and why they matter”, the authors argue that the gender pay gap is largely attributable to gender segregated labour markets, which are a result of gender differences in time use, in access to assets and credit, and in treatment by markets and formal institutions (including legislation).  Relatively little attention is given to the problem of direct discrimination against women in hiring; the authors argue there is a lack of data relevant to developing countries and that segregated labour markets may be largely explained by other factors.  As a tool for policymakers, it is positive that the WDR recognizes that economic growth alone will not change patterns of gender segregation in economic activity.

Similarly, the WDR notes that patterns of women’s “voice” in societies and households do not change much as countries get richer.  The authors emphasize the importance of increasing women’s representation in all manner of fora, explicitly including trade unions.

Chapter 6 discusses globalization, with an upbeat attitude about the potential of trade openness and information technologies to promote gender equality by connecting women to markets, adjusting social norms, and increasing international scrutiny of gender discrimination.  However, the WDR does recognize that greater economic integration has had some negative impact on workers, noting that global labour market shifts have translated into greater wage inequality in the United States and greater unemployment among “unskilled” workers in Europe.  The authors note, but largely dismiss, concerns that trade liberalization may lead to low wages and low working conditions, arguing that in many cases it has led to higher wages and increased scrutiny of working conditions.  The Report does admit that important challenges remain for informal workers, and recommends a combination of strategies to address these including social clauses in trade agreements, corporate codes of conduct, and “the ILO’s ‘decent work’ approach”.

You can access the press release, report overview (4pages), report overview (45 pages) in multiple languages, as well as the full report (all 452pgs, English only) here: http://go.worldbank.org/CQCTMSFI40

Francesca Ricciardone
ITUC/Global Unions – Washington Office
888 16th Street NW, Ste. 400
Washington, DC 20006

The universities themselves are both supporting the respective breakfasts at Lincoln and Victoria, with the vice-chancellor at Lincoln funding the entire breakfast, and the vice chancellor at Victoria funding half of the breakfast.

A central issue for women commemorating Suffrage Day this year is the upcoming referendum on MMP.

“Suffrage wasn’t something that happened just once, a hundred years ago,” said TEU women’s vice president Alexandra Sims. “It’s an on-going process to ensure women have fair representation and participation in all aspects of politics. MMP has given more women a voice in Parliament – that’s why it’s a suffrage issue this year.”

When MMP was introduced the number of women in Parliament rose immediately from 21 percent to 29 percent and has subsequently remained over 30 percent ever since.

“Across the world women are better represented in parliaments with proportional voting systems. If we want to protect and grow our political voice women need to vote to retain MMP at this year’s referendum,” said Associate Professor Alex Sims.

The number of men in filled jobs in education and training has remained static at 45,000, but the number of women in filled jobs in education and training has risen from 106,000 to 111,000. So, it is probably no surprise then with the percentage of women in education and training increasing that hourly earnings are failing to keep up with inflation, because the other thing Statistics NZ’s Quarterly Employment Survey shows is that the gender pay gap has widened to 13 percent for the June quarter.

“There has been a lack of action from this government to reduce the gender pay gap, and this is especially disappointing given the recent coverage of the issue,” said Pay Equity Challenge Coalition spokesperson, Angela McLeod.

Figures in the Quarterly Employment Survey show a per hour pay gap between men and women of 13 percent up from 12.6 percent and an annual weekly income gap of 17.4 percent up from 17 percent from the previous quarter.