Group demands action – 'we can't afford to wait any longer'
An open letter addressed to the New Zealand government is calling for mandatory pay gap reporting for large businesses in a bid to reduce gender and ethnic disparities.
The letter came from a group of 40 unions, charities, and community groups led by MindTheGapNZ, reported NewsHub, and they are demanding a change in legislation to make it mandatory to report pay gaps for businesses with more than 50 employees.
"Many women and people in our Māori, Pasifika, and other ethnic communities earn much less than they would if they were a Pākehā man. That's not fair. It's not the Kiwi way. The playing field is tilted against too many," the open letter read as quoted by NewsHub.
"In these tough times, every dollar counts. We can't afford to wait any longer."
According to the group, requiring big employers to report pay gaps will help "reduce child poverty and end discrimination that impacts on the aspirations of Māori, of Pasifika; of other ethnic groups."
In New Zealand, mandatory reporting of pay gap is already required for public services, while under MindTheGap's public registry campaign, 55 large companies are already reporting gender pay gaps, while seven are also reporting their Māori and Pasifika pay gap.
Read more: Kiwi firm eradicates gender pay gap
And in its latest #NotAnotherWinter campaign, MindTheGap is calling on the public to sign a petition to encourage pay gap reporting.
MindTheGap campaign co-founder Jo Cribb also said that other countries that made it mandatory to report pay gap not only resulted in closing it, but also made a positive impact on workers' pay packets.
The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU) is one of the signatories of the open letter, while stressing that pay equity is one of the "biggest issues facing working people" in New Zealand.
"As a country, we can help improve the wellbeing of our working people with simple steps such as pay gap reporting. We look forward to working with the Government to see this become a reality," NZCTU national secretary Melissa Ansell-Bridges in a statement.
