A devastating day in the life of a pay equity advocate

I love my job. As an advisory officer and pay equity advocate for a teachers’ union, I get to champion what I wholeheartedly believe in: An education system that values and supports students and teachers and is free from gender discrimination.

In Aotearoa New Zealand, pay equity claims are the main pathway to recognising that work in female-dominated professions has been undervalued, and to restore that equity through a settlement. Pay equity has been championed by many wāhine toa (strong women), over decades.

Nicola’s pride in pay equity

The struggle and achievement of one of these women, Kristine Bartlett, led to the Equal Pay Act Amendment Bill 2020. This amendment was passed by unanimous vote, with then National MP and now Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, asserting in Parliament that, “a man and a woman who are doing different jobs of equal value should be given equal pay” and taking pride that “the most significant pay equity settlement in New Zealand’s history…was delivered by a National-led Government”.

This week, the National-led coalition government announced that they were urgently amending the Equal Pay Act 1972 and discontinuing 33 current pay equity claims.

One of these claims was for teachers. It was New Zealand’s largest ever pay equity claim. Raised in late 2020, it covered more than 90,000 teachers and leaders in early childhood, primary and secondary education. The teachers who look after our babies, children and young people, and support their learning aspirations and hauora (well-being). Those whose impact reaches through whānau into our communities, across Aotearoa New Zealand.

Three years of time and effort

For over three years, I’ve had the privilege of representing secondary teachers and principals in this process on behalf of PPTA Te Wehengarua. With my colleague at NZEI Te Riu Roa, we’ve been working collaboratively with the Ministry of Education’s pay equity team. Together, we have interviewed more than 300 teachers and their supervisors, as well as dozens of potential comparators from male-dominated professions. We have undertaken a robust and rigorous process, following the Act and the Public Service Commission’s Pay Equity Process Guide.

Throughout this process, I’ve had the chance to speak with teachers and school leaders who have shared their stories. Stories that have reinforced what we know about the challenges teachers face – the increased mental health, learning support and behavioural needs of children, the teacher shortage crisis, unsustainable workloads, and the added pressure from the government’s curriculum changes. Teachers also expressed gratitude for the collaborative work that we were undertaking with the Ministry to recognise the value of their mahi. There was hope that pay equity would make a difference for them.

Unworkable law

That hope was shattered this week by Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden. The amendments will lead to an unworkable law that will not provide equitable outcomes for women.

The amendments were pushed through under urgency, without the opportunity for consultation or community feedback. Make no mistake, this decision is the government’s attempt to fill a hole in their budget, due in just two weeks.  Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has confirmed this, describing the decision as “huge savings at a crucial time” and saying that “Brooke van Velden has…saved the Budget for the government”.

Emphasis from the Prime Minister was also on the “billions of dollars” that these changes could save the government. Let’s be clear here – the leader of our country is celebrating ‘saving’ money by choosing to pay women less than they deserve.  Pay equity settlements are only expensive because successive governments have allowed this gender discrimination to continue over decades.

Pathway to equity torched

Today, I’m devastated and I’m furious. For my union colleagues who have put their hearts and souls into this challenging work for years and years. For the women, and people of all gender identities, whose work continues to be undervalued due to gender discrimination. For our members, for whom the pathway to equity has been torched by this government’s disgusting choices.

But I don’t have time to dwell on these feelings. There is work to be done. To strategise and organise. We must stand up in opposition to the Prime Minister and his coalition government’s attacks on women. We must ensure that our children are taught by teachers whose work is free from gender discrimination. And so, we will continue to fight for pay equity.  Kia kaha, kia māia, kia manawanui.

Jo Brunskill is an advisory officer and advocate at PPTA Te Wehengarua.