SUBMISSION ON THE CARE AND SUPPORT WORKER (PAY EQUITY) SETTLEMENT BILL 2017 BY THE PAY EQUITY COALITION AUCKLAND

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1 SUBMISSION ON THE CARE AND SUPPORT WORKER (PAY EQUITY) SETTLEMENT BILL 2017 BY THE PAY EQUITY COALITION AUCKLAND 28 MAY 2017 CATRIONA MACLENNAN PAY EQUITY COALITION AUCKLAND Auckland Feminist Action; Auckland Grey Power Association Inc; Auckland Women s Centre; Auckland Women Lawyers Association; Business and Professional Women; Diversity Works NZ; Human Rights Commission; National Council of Women; Pacific Women s Watch New Zealand; North Shore Women s Centre; Shine (Safer Homes in New Zealand Everyday Trust); UN Women; Unions Auckland (representing a number of unions); Women s Health Action Trust; Women s International League for Peace and Freedom; Women s Studies Association; Working Women s Resource Centre; YWCA Auckland. 1

2 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 3 BACKGROUND 4 CLAUSE BY CLAUSE SUBMISSIONS 5 2

3 INTRODUCTION The Pay Equity Coalition Auckland welcomes the Care and Support Worker (Pay Equity) Settlement Bill We are pleased that the Settlement is being enshrined in an act of Parliament. This gives the Settlement status and makes clear the Government s obligation to fund fully the Settlement, as well as employers obligations to pass on the full Settlement to workers. We also support the mechanism to keep pay rates up with the Labour Cost Index; the recognition of qualifications; the requirement for employers to support workers to acquire relevant qualifications; and the inclusion of penal rates. The Pay Equity Coalition Auckland hopes that the Settlement and this act will serve as a model for future pay equity claims. There are tens of thousands of other women in Aotearoa disproportionately Māori, Pasifika, immigrant and disabled women who suffer the same gender discrimination and low wages as care and support workers. We have in an earlier submission expressed our concern about the contents of the Exposure Draft of the Employment (Pay Equity and Equal Pay) Bill and its potential to prevent future pay equity claims. We hope to see that bill significantly rewritten. 3

4 BACKGROUND The Pay Equity Coalition Auckland (PECA) is an umbrella group of organisations and individuals supporting and lobbying for pay equity. The member organisations of PECA are Auckland Feminist Action; Auckland Grey Power Association Inc; Auckland Women s Centre; Auckland Women Lawyers Association; Business and Professional Women; Diversity Works NZ; Human Rights Commission; National Council of Women; Pacific Women s Watch New Zealand; North Shore Women s Centre; Shine (Safer Homes in New Zealand Everyday Trust); UN Women; Unions Auckland (representing a number of unions); Women s Health Action Trust; Women s International League for Peace and Freedom; Women s Studies Association; Working Women s Resource Centre; YWCA Auckland. 4

5 CLAUSE BY CLAUSE SUBMISSIONS Clause 4 PECA submits that the definition of care and support services in the bill should be amended to make it consistent with the definition of services in the Settlement Agreement. Clause 4(a) should be amended by inserting the words or home like setting after the phrase person s home. Clause 4(a)(i) should be amended by inserting the words or work after the words assisting the person to continue to live. The reason we are proposing this change is to ensure that vocational assistance in included in the definition. PECA submits that the definition of employer in clause 4 also requires modification. As it is presently defined, employer excludes individuallyfunded clients and their families. This is contrary to the exclusion at Footnote 57 of the Settlement Agreement. PECA is concerned about this, as employers could use individualised funding to circumvent the Settlement Agreement. This would mean that the workers meant to be covered would continue to be undervalued and underpaid. It would also open the Government up to future claims, when the aim of the negotiation and Settlement was to resolve this claim. We submit that the current paragraph (b) in the definition of the word employer should be deleted and replaced with the words does not include the following services: behavioural support services, caregiver support, child development services, environmental support, and funded family care. In relation to the definitions of level 2 qualification, level 3 qualification and level 4 qualification, we believe that the current wording is unclear. PECA submits that it should be amended to explain exactly how the equivalence of overseas qualifications is to be determined. PECA supports the determination being carried out by an independent agency such as the relevant Industry Training Organisation for example, Careerforce. 5

6 Clause 11 PECA is concerned that the phrase all reasonable steps is vague and undefined and allows too much room for employers to do nothing or to drag their heels in supporting care and support workers to obtain qualifications. PECA submits that clause 11(2) should be amended to clarify that it applies to care and support workers employed as at 30 June We propose the insertion of a new clause 11(3), stating as follows (3) In this section, reasonable steps include, but are not limited to: (a) paying the fees for the training course; and (b) providing paid study leave or training leave when required; and (c) providing adequate access to supervisors and assessors. Clause 18 PECA submits that employers must be fully funded so that they can pay care and support workers in accordance with the terms of the Settlement Agreement. There would be no benefit to these undervalued workers if other terms and conditions were reduced for example, cutting hours of work. We submit that the word towards should be deleted from clause 18(1). 6