Source: Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi
The PSA and NZNO are hosting a webinar on the Government’s cancellation of the care and support workers’ pay equity claim, who paid the price, and what it would take to put things right.
Angela Meyer and Tania Dommett, two of the three fictional detectives behind Project Gender’s ShortChanged podcast, will investigate the real story behind the cancelled care and support workers’ pay equity claim. They will be joined by a panel of experts.
“We’re holding this webinar to lift the lid on what happened with the care and support workers’ pay equity claim,” said PSA Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi National Secretary Fleur Fitzsimons.
“The evidence did not change when the claim was cancelled. Care and support work is undervalued.
“The work has already been done. The evidence shows care and support workers are undervalued by 24-38 percent.
“The claim is ready to settle. This election, we want to see Opposition parties commit to settling it based on the established undervaluation, within the first 100 days of a new Government.”
NZNO delegate Lisa Marriner said, “Aged care workers, most of them women, are among the lowest paid in health. They care for older New Zealanders with skill and dignity, yet many are working long hours just to cover the basics.
“Cancelling the claim didn’t make the undervaluation go away. It just left these workers waiting again for the fairness they were promised. A settlement is ready. What’s missing is the political will to fund it.”
Angela Meyer, co-founder of Project Gender and co-host of the podcast ShortChanged: The Pay Equity Investigation, said, “If the Government can find the money to pay its bills, it can find the money to pay women what they’re owed. Pay equity isn’t a bonus. It’s the bill.”
Event details
When: Thursday 1 October – 3:00pm – 3:45pm
Where: Online – registration link
Panel
- Angela Meyer (Host)
- Tania Dommett (Host)
- Melissa Woolley, PSA
- Nanette Cormack, PSA
- Glenda Alexander, NZNO
- Clint Smith, Victor Consulting
The panel will cover
- The evidence: How the undervaluation of care and support work was established.
- The money: What equitable pay would look like, and the economic and fiscal benefits.
- The way forward: How an incoming Government could deliver pay equity quickly, and what needs to happen to make it real.
The Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi is Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest trade union, representing and supporting more than 95,000 workers across central government, state-owned enterprises, local councils, health boards and community groups.