Spending money on Early Childhood Education is a “no-brainer” and government cuts are bad for children and workers, CTU president Helen Kelly said today.

The Government has finally released details of its pay and employment equity investigations which confirm that women in the public sector are significantly underpaid and discriminated against, revealed the CTU today.

Media release on behalf of the Pay Equity Challenge Coalition
18 November 2009

Today marks the day when New Zealand women are effectively working for free until the end of the year, says the Pay Equity Challenge Coalition.

New Zealand women are today throwing down a challenge to the Government on pay equity at a rally outside Parliament in Wellington. A broad coalition of women’s groups is demanding to know what this Government intends to do to make pay equity a reality now that it has closed its own Pay and Employment Equity Unit in the Department of Labour.

Wellington businesses are showing their support for women’s pay equity by offering a discount – for women only – to coincide with the Pay Equity rally at Parliament on Tuesday 30 June. Because women are paid around 12 per cent less than men the businesses are all offering a 12 per cent discount to women for anything from clothes to coffee on the day.

The decision today by the National Party Government to abolish the Department of Labour’s Pay and Employment Equity Unit shows an absolute disregard for the thousands of women workers in this country whose work is undervalued simply because they are women, said CTU President Helen Kelly. This decision destroys hopes that the unfairness in women’s pay will be rectified soon.

The CTU will put its weight behind the call for the reinstatement of the Government’s axed pay equity investigations for school support staff and social workers. Unions, community groups and women’s organisations joined Labour and Green politicians yesterday and demanded action at the launch of a petition in Parliament House, Wellington.