NZ Govt urged to close Pasifika pay gap

Pasifika work-force advocates are urging the government not to take its foot off the accelerator when it comes to addressing the ethnic pay-gap.

Pacific public servants are paid 19.5 percent less than non-Pasifika, and unions want to see efforts stepped up to address it.

Lost in the recent furore around the public sector pay-freeze of high earners was the government's ongoing commitment to lifting the incomes of Pacific workers.

The Public Service minister Chris Hipkins said "It will not impact the work we are doing within the Public Service to close gender and ethnic pay gaps."

In 2020, Pacific women public servants earned $68,200 on average, while Pacific men got $71,100. Pakeha men in the public service earned $94,700 which is 28 percent more than Pacific women.

The co-convenor of the Council of Trade Unions' (NZCTU) Komiti Pasefika is Caroline Mareko.

Ms Mareko gives a national overview for Pacific workers and she says the government support of Fair Pay Agreements is a start to closing the gap.

"That is one way that would help our community in the work force get better conditions, get better pay, because it's not just in the Collective (Agreement) but the Fair Pay Agreement is out across the sector," she said.

"Getting the minimum standards that they should be getting and that there's consistency right across the board."

Despite investment in previous budgets towards lifting the value of Pasifika employment, the pay gap has languished at around 20 percent the last decade, while for tangata Maori it has steadily dropped from 11.4 to 9.3 percent.

For Pasifika workers, said Mareko, there are some fundamentals to address.

"My concern is that 40 percent of the workforce will have literacy and numeracy issues," she explained.

"So it's about addressing those issues so that it enables our people to be able to enter into quality education and training, and also be able to participate and engage to be able to gain those quals."

Working in early childhood education and as an education union (NZEI) representative, Ms Mareko said the staggering figure came to her from colleagues in the tertiary sector who identified the significant barriers to Pacific work-force promotion and progression.

E tū Union's Fala Haulangi represents many low paid Pacific workers in the private sector.

They are working on fair pay agreements, she said, to start lift the economic viability of many hard working people.

"To make sure that workers are getting paid the living wage, job security, health and safety, proper training for workers, not only that but for workers to make sure they are part of the decision making."

E tū is prioritising cleaners, security guards, home support staff and aged care workers, said Ms Haulangi, many of whom are Pasifika.

The focus for her in the private sector is promotion and career progression.

"When it comes to management, the management side of things, it's always that mentality that only palagi can be on those roles, the leadership roles," outlined Haulangi.

"And so to me, that's another area in which we need to look at because I know Pasifika women are very capable of being on those leadership roles."

But Haulangi said she was shocked the public sector ethnic pay gap is still so high and said they can lead by example in closing it.

The Minister for Pacific Peoples, Aupito William Sio said despite the huge challenge, it's a priority.

Aupito said the continued budget focus is a holistic Pacific welfare view including lifting skills levels, education and opportunities.

"What's changed this time around is that the government has asked me to lead the Pacific wellbeing approach and that requires being able to work across the board with a number of different agencies."

Along with the Pacific portfolio, Aupito is Minister for Courts and has associate roles with Foreign Affairs, Education (Pacific Peoples), Justice, and Health (Pacific Peoples).

The focus is to have a Pacific lens across all government agencies, added Aupito, to lift people's welfare and bridge the income gap.

Caroline Mareko would like to see the Minister's words backed with action following this year's budget.

"The government really should do something about this pay gap issue. We can't keep talking about it, raising the statistics. (The) rubber needs to hit the road and we need to get on to it."

Minister Aupito said collaboration across public and private sectors, including unions, is necessary so budget initiatives aimed at addressing the Pasifika pay gap can be most effective.