NZEI to seek redress over pay discrimination

NZEI says it intends to take legal action on behalf of education support workers over gender discrimination.

“We welcome the initiative by the country’s midwives to file for court action over pay discrimination. And we’ve also been watching developments in the case of Lower Hutt caregiver Kristine Bartlett who last year won in the Supreme Court against her employers over pay discrimination,” NZEI National Secretary Paul Goulter says.

“The Government has been ignoring this human rights issue for far too long and we will now pursue our case through the courts.

“More than six years ago an independent job evaluation report by the Pay Equity Commission showed that when compared with the male-dominated job of corrections officer, education support workers employed by the Ministry of Education were paid as much as $8 an hour less.

“The incoming government sidelined the report, saying the pay issue would be dealt with through bargaining rounds.

“There has been no real movement, and in fact what we’re seeing across the workforce in New Zealand is growing inequity and female-dominated workforces are suffering the most.

“We have given the Government plenty of time to tackle this issue and we will now follow the path of the midwives and Kristine Bartlett, and seek redress through the legal system,” Mr Goulter says.