Forum 2011

Moana ErueraNew Zealand Human Rights Commission

Tracking Equality at Work• First set of indicators developed in NZ to

track progress towards equality at work• Detailed overview of labour market

participation• New look at the gender pay gap and a

new Pay Equality Bill• A set of recommendations for the

Commission and for Government to push on with strengthening equality at work.

EEO at the crossroads

• Dramatic changes in the labour market in past 25 years (emphasised during global recession)

• Who works (youth unemployment, older people staying on, education levels, more women overall, under-employment and Māori and Pacific trends)

• How (technology 24/7) and where we work (flexible) and work organisation (flatter structures)

• Values changing – public servants, Christchurch, generational difference

EEO at the crossroads (cont’d)

• What we work at (globalisation, decline of manufacturing bases, labour shedding from technology, knowledge-based economies)

• How workers are protected (collapse of tenure and security, increase in casual, precarious work, less collectivity, lower unionisation)

The Human Rights Commission

• EEO Commissioner has statutory function to provide leadership on equal employment opportunities,

• The Commission has the function of encouraging the development of harmonious relations between individuals and diverse groups in NZ society.

Workplace vital to society wellbeing

• “The workplace – be it a factory, an office, a farm or the street-is a strategic entry point to free society from discrimination” ILO Time for Equality at Work.

• Migrants have the same rights in relation to pre-employment and employment as others in New Zealand.

Reality of modern work-macro picture

• Global migration a reality of modern workplaces and NZ in trouble without it

• Migrants contribute over $8 million through income tax, GST and excise duties and expenditure bit more than half so net gain.

National Conversation about Work

The results - Broad themes• Age is a dominant anxiety• Bias against youth• Disabled people worse off• Conditions of work for migrants• Low wage economy

Continuing the conversation Tracking equality

Tracking Equality at Work• First set of indicators developed in NZ to

track progress towards equality at work• Detailed overview of labour market

participation• New look at the gender pay gap and a

new Pay Equality Bill• A set of recommendations for the

Commission and for Government to push on with strengthening equality at work.

http://www.neon.org.nz/trackingequalityatwork/

Older workers• New Zealand has one of the highest rates of

participation of older workers (55 years and over) in the OECD at 44.1% for the year to June 2010

• High proportion of pre-employment complaints to the Commission have been where people have been told they are too old for a role

• Too few businesses have implemented practices to capture institutional knowledge or to transfer the knowledge of older workers to younger workers

Youth employment crisis

• NZ’s youth unemployment rate was 18.8% in March 2011

• Record high unemployment rate has been described as “an emergency”

• Young men and women have been disproportionately affected by the recession

• Commission proposes a national youth-to-work-strategy

Youth work crisis

• National youth-to-work strategy• Commission notes an absence of “young

people’s voices”• Engagement with 13-18 year olds to

advance the concept of a career focussed “plan” for every young New Zealander

Youth work crisis

• Migrant youth:

–What are the issues for migrant youth gaining employment?

–What is needed to address these issues?

–How do family influence the career decisions of migrant youth?

Youth work crisis

• Migrant youth:– How does the migrant community influence

the career decisions of migrant youth?– What migrant youth employment programmes

do you know are working around the country?– How can the Commission capture the “voices”

of migrant youth?– Who else should the Commission engage with

around employment for migrant youth?

Disabled people and work

• New Zealand ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in 2008

• Article 27 of the CRPD outlines the rights of disabled people in relation to employment

• Disabled people in NZ find getting a decent job to be one of their most significant challenges

• At every level of qualification disabled people are less likely than non-disabled people to be in the workforce

• What is needed• Encouragement of other

employers to take on disabled staff

• Greater education and awareness raising around disabilities

Disabled people and work

What is needed• Encouragement of other

employers to take on disabled staff

• Greater education and awareness raising around disabilities

Equal pay: what we’ve got

Pay equality law exists

Non-discrimination law exists

What we’ve got

12% gender pay gap over past 10 years Ten public sector departments of 34 have

a gender pay gap less than or equal to the gap in the total labour market of 13%

The lowest gender pay gap in the public sector is [minus] -12.03%

The highest gender pay gap in the public sector is 38.81%

What we need

Pay equality law exists

Non-discrimination law

existsPositive duty

Pay Equality BillThree essential pillars: Realise the right to equal pay Positive duty to equal pay

transparency, obligation on employers’ to record pay differentiations by gender and open to Labour Inspector scrutiny

Determination of work of equal value

EEO ‘Good employer’ Advice

• A ‘good employer’ is an organisation that provides and supports an environment where employees feel valued and respected, where difference is celebrated and diversity encouraged, where there is active staff engagement, transparency on policies and procedures, clear complaints procedures, and regular feedback.

www.neon.org.nz