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As an early childhood education teacher, Mel Burgess is responsible for educating our youngest Kiwis.
But as important as her job is, she, along with thousands of other women, has been fighting for equal pay for years.
“The younger the age group, the less value is placed on the teacher,” he says.
“I want my profession, which I know is crucial for society, to be valued accordingly.”
That value will now be easier to obtain with the introduction of the Equal Pay Amendment Act, which makes it easier for women to make claims about pay inequality.
The New Zealand Institute of Education Te Rui Roa says the legislation is a world leader and will make a real difference.
“No other country has this kind of legal framework to follow, so it’s exciting, it’s groundbreaking,” says NZEI Te Riu Roa Early Childhood Representative Virginia Oakley.
“[It gives us] a clearer process that we can follow and it doesn’t mean that we have to fight in court to get a pay equity sector for the sector. “
Currently, there are more than 86,000 New Zealanders making progress on at least 15 pay equity claims in the education, health and public sectors. The Government says that this law will facilitate the solution of the inequality of women in historically low-paid jobs.
“This is just one, albeit long overdue, but one step on our path towards gender equality,” says incoming Minister for Women Jan Tinetti.
ACT was the only party to vote against the Equal Pay Amendment Act, saying it pushed pay equity back, not forward.
“It’s going to be a more complex and bureaucratic process. The last thing we need in an economic recovery is more bureaucracy,” says leader David Seymour.
But for women like Burgess, the opportunity to earn the same salary is priceless.
