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.

“This bill is part of the jigsaw of actions urgently needed to address the crisis of low pay our members face,” said Ms Wyeth, a cook at Auckland’s North Shore Hospital.

“Our union represents many thousands of women in jobs traditionally dominated by underpaid and undervalued women, such as cooking, cleaning and caregiving,” said Ms Wyeth.

“The pay gap between men and women is our members’ daily reality. There is an invisible army of women out there, many of whom are the main income earners or only income earners in their families, struggling to feed those families on as little as $13 an hour.”

Ms Wyeth said the bill was an important step in making the pay gap visible. But she said more urgent action was needed to lift pay rates for low-paid women workers.

“To achieve a living wage for underpaid and undervalued women we must lift the minimum wage to $15 immediately and strengthen our employment law to make it easier for unions to negotiate fair pay settlements.”

Barbara Wyeth said this was the top issue in the upcoming general elections.
“Our members totally reject Nationals’ agenda of weakening employment law and will be voting for stronger work rights law. Closing the pay gap between undervalued women’s work is an important part of this.”
For more information contact Barbara Wyeth 021 025 27139 or 09 445 8782
or Lyndy McIntyre, SFWU Communications on 0272046329.

 “This bill modernises our approach to equal pay, and will help to give women the information they need to ensure that they are being paid fairly,” said coalition spokesperson Rebecca Matthews.

“Our Equal Pay legislation is 40 years old, and was written for that time. Times have changed.  We need to break down the culture of secrecy that has developed around pay which means that most women and their unions find it difficult to access information and address unfairness in pay.”

Matthews welcomed Catherine Delahunty’s leadership on the 12.75% gender pay gap, particularly in light of the government’s lack of action on  pay equity.

 “Catherine has drafted a bill that all political parties can support. It modernises equal pay legislation, and gives employees transparency and information about how men and women are paid,” said Matthews.

 The Coalition intends to talk to all political parties about the need for a political solution to the ongoing disparity between men and women’s pay, and the need for greater accountability for employers to demonstrate  that they are meeting reasonable  obligations to pay fairly.

Rebecca Matthews, Pay Equity Challenge Coalition spokesperson

04 801 2004 / 027 445 8314

 Green Party MP Catherine Delahunty today released a Member’s Bill to amend the Equal Pay Act that will ensure women have access to information about pay rates in their workplace to test if there is gender-based discrimination.   

 ”Despite having the Equal Pay Act since 1972, there is anecdotal evidence that many women are still paid less than men for doing the same job,” said Ms Delahunty.

“One way to close the gender pay gap is to make sure the existing Equal Pay Act is being enforced. My Bill gives teeth to the Equal Pay Act and makes it relevant in the 21^st Century. “New Zealand was the first country in the world where woman got to vote. We shouldn’t undermine this proud legacy by letting unequal pay practices continue in 2011.”

The proposed changes would require employers to record the gender of their employees along with current reporting requirements. Workers and unions would then be able to request information on pay levels by gender in their workplaces to assess whether the Equal Pay Act is being applied.

Aggregate data on gender pay around the country would also be made available. This information would make it easier for women to find out if there is gender pay discrimination, something that is very difficult to do under the law as it stands. 

“Since the Equal Pay Act was introduced in 1972, there have been very few cases taken under it. While the Equal Pay Act had an immediate positive effect in getting rid of separate rates of pay for women, changes in employment law since then mean the Act needs updating,” said Ms Delahunty.

“Proving equal pay issues is a lot harder today than it was when the original Act was passed as pay rates for jobs were public and printed in industry awards. This Bill recognises that most women are now employed on individual employment agreements or workplace collective agreements.

 Ms Delahunty said the law surrounding gender equality needed a much bigger overhaul but, before we can address big picture issues, we need to ensure the current Act is being applied correctly. 

 “This is a small but important step to close the gender pay gap and gives women workers a new tool to ensure they are paid fairly. I hope the Government and other parties support it so that women can ensure they are paid fairly and legally,” said Ms Delahunty

It considered the likelihood of a student choosing a destination from a range of post-secondary school activities—no further study, targeted training, lower-level certificate study, industry training, Modern Apprenticeships, and non-degree study at level 4 or above—diplomas and certificates at level 4.

The student found that 38 percent of these women undertook no further study after school compared to 35 percent of men. The women who did study were more likely than their male peers to study a lower level certificate or a diploma but significantly less likely to take part in industry training (9 percent compared to 23 percent).

The study’s author, Ralf Engler, says:

“Only for European males is there a change in the most likely activity with the attainment of NCEA level 1 , and this is to be involved in industry training. As we have noted, to be eligible for industry training, a person needs to be in employment. The types of work that include industry training are mostly trades, which are male dominated. And European males are more likely to be in these jobs.”

The president of Massey University’s extramural students’ association, Ralph Springett, is campaigning to change the priorities of the government’s Tertiary Education Strategy, which he says are undermining second chance learners’ access to education. Mr Springett says the strategy does not address the need, particularly for women, for accessible second chance education opportunities. Neither does it recognise the benefits of study while working.

Thanks to Ako Aotearoa for the photo – http://akoaotearoa.ac.nz/