The HR department at DHB is facing pay demands from its clerical and administration staff on the grounds of pay equity
Yesterday was Administrative Workers’ Appreciation Day, a day dedicated to the contribution that admin staff in New Zealand make to their workplaces.
To mark the occasion, around 7,000 DHB workers raised a claim for equal pay for administration and clerical employees.
According to Public Service Association National Secretary Erin Polaczuk, DHB clerical and administration staff are among the poorest-paid workers in the health system, and around 90% of them are women.
Polaczuk said the DHB clerical and administration staff keep the system running, but most are paid “little more than the minimum wage” because their jobs have been considered “women’s work”.
“This claim, raised under the process recommended by the Joint Working Group on Equal Pay Principles, will set about ending this once and for all.”
The claim has been endorsed by nearly 5,000 PSA members working in DHBs. Representatives of the DHBs have received the claim and said they are looking forward to working through the process set out by the Joint Working Group.
“Administration and clerical workers keep our health system on its feet, and the importance and value of their work has been overlooked for too long,” said Polaczuk.
“This claim is about more than money – it’s about recognising the important role these women play.
“We look forward to fruitful discussions with the employers, and a swift resolution to the claim.”
Last year, a study found sexism is holding women in New Zealand back from earning what their male colleagues do when they contribute just as much to their organisation.
The researchers showed that despite adding the same amount of value, the average female employee is worse off, earning 84 cents for every $1 the average man gets paid.
The national gender pay gap is 12%, and has hardly narrowed over the past decade.
