Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010)

The Committee notes the extensive information in the Government’s report and the comments by the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU) and by Business New Zealand (Business NZ) attached to the Government’s report.

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Equal pay legislation. The Committee recalls that the Employment Relations Act, 2000, (ERA), the Human Rights Act, 1993, (HRA) and the Equal Pay Act, 1972, (EPA) limit the requirement for equal remuneration for men and women to the same and similar work, which is more restrictive than the concept of “equal value” provided for in the Convention. Furthermore, the ERA limits the scope of comparison to situations where men and women work for the same employer. The Committee notes the Governments’ statement that the EPA provides broad protection which is further strengthened by other legislation, policies and initiatives, including the Five-Year Plan of Action on Pay and Employment Equity. The Government also indicates that it has no current plans to review the EPA but will continue to monitor developments in this regard. The Committee recalls that in 2004 the Task Force on Pay and Employment Equity defined “pay equity” as “men and women receiving the same pay for the same work and for work which is different, but of equal value”. The Committee, recalling its 2006 general observation on this Convention asks the Government to continue to report on any developments with respect to the amendment of its equal pay legislation, with a view to giving full legal expression to the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. The Government is also requested to provide information on any judicial decisions indicating that the Equal Pay Act is being interpreted by the courts in conformity with the broader meaning of Articles 1(b) and 2 of the Convention.

Applying the principle in the public service. The Committee notes with interest the implementation of the Five-Year Plan of Action on Pay and Employment Equity in the public service, and particularly the pay and employment equity reviews and response plans that have been undertaken in the thirty nine departments. The findings of the reviews carried out by mid-2008 indicate a gender pay gap ranging from 3 to 25 per cent, higher starting rates and performance pay for men, an under-evaluation of women’s work, an under‑representation of women in management and their concentration in administrative and clerical work with limited career paths, difficult career-advancement for part-time workers, and workplace cultures that limit women’s contributions. The Committee notes that the organizations’ responses to the pay reviews include reviewing job-evaluation methods for gender bias, undertaking job-evaluation exercises, ensuring that performance pay systems are gender-neutral, improving access to flexible work, supporting managers in managing flexible work, and improving professional development and career-paths for jobs primarily performed by women. The Government indicates that action on the responses is at an early stage but would include some of the following interventions: pay increases for re-evaluated jobs, gender-sensitive human resources policies, systems and data, more flexible work arrangements, some permanent employment contracts and new career paths across job levels. The Committee notes that two pay investigations have been agreed in public sector‑based occupations in which women are predominant. The Pay and Employment Equity Unit of the Ministry of Labour will monitor and analyse action on the responses proposed, and report on the progress made. The Committee welcomes the efforts made in promoting and applying the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value in the public service through pay and employment equity reviews, and asks the Government to continue to report on the action taken to implement the recommendations made by the reviews.

The Committee is raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.