Another Credibility Hit For Care And Support Pay Equity Claim

Damning feedback for a Te Whatu Ora review of the Care and Support Pay Equity claim has been applauded by disability support sector leaders.

Pay Equity Taskforce leader Gráinne Moss raised a number of concerns with the review, including conclusions drawn on no evidence, wrong conclusions and conclusions drawn outside the terms of reference. The Pay Equity Taskforce was shut down in May.

“This is deeply troubling for everyone engaged in this claim – we support Ms Moss’s work to question the review’s conclusions and why it was commissioned,” said New Zealand Disability Support Network CEO Peter Reynolds. “The question now is, did the government shut down the Pay Equity taskforce because they didn’t like the questions they were asking?”

The long running care and support worker Pay Equity saga seems to have no end in sight, leaving workers underpaid and providers in limbo as they continue to work through the process that now incorporates three separate claims and has been running since July 2022.

“We called Te Whatu Ora’s review, which wasn’t part of the formal process, a delaying tactic at the time, and now find it’s been exposed by the government’s previous expert in all-things pay equity. When will the government get serious about completing these claims and give workers what they deserve and let providers get back to focusing on supporting those disabled people with greatest need?”

“The disability support sector has enough challenges of its own between funding cuts, Whaikaha being gutted and beginning a new relationship with MSD. Enough is enough.

“These claims affect around 65,000 care and support workers doing extremely difficult jobs - they deserve better than this. Stop wasting our time with reviews, and get on with concluding these claims, fairly, and ASAP,” said Peter Reynolds.

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