18 April 2017

Media Release

Auckland Chamber of Commerce applauds pay equity settlement

The many businesses that do not have a gender pay gap have no reason to be alarmed by the pay equity settlement reached in government-funded care service sectors which employ mainly women on low rates.

Applauding the reported move to pay equity for workers, mainly woman in aged residential care, home support and disability services, Michael Barnett, head of the Auckland Regional Chamber of Commerce, said that the pay equity principle should be carried across to other sectors that have failed to recognize the skill base that these mainly lower paid women workers contribute.

“Recognising pay equity principles should ensure that any pay gap that exists within a business or sector, whether government-funded or private sector, can be addressed fairly and positively,” he suggested.

Pay equity is an obvious and now well-established principle, and which businesses and sectors that haven’t fully recognized will need to attend to.

But the many businesses in the private sector that do not have a gender pay gap should not be alarmed by this settlement – “on the contrary, it gives due recognition to the particular skills these people bring to taking care of people in need of specialist care,” concluded Mr Barnett.

ends

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