'Undervalued' social service workers make pay equity plea

Thursday, 29 August 2019

Paid staff of not-for-profit organisations say they are 'undervalued' and paid less because the majority of workers are women.

Two pay equity claims have been lodged with prominent social service providers Barnardos, Wellington Sexual Abuse HELP, Christchurch Methodist Mission, Stand Children's Services and Ngāpuhi Iwi Social Services via the Public Service Association (PSA).

But workers have told the PSA their employers can't pay staff at a rate which reflected their skills and responsibilities because of funding constraints.

Social service workers are vying for pay equity for work they say is undervalued and in need of urgent funding. (File photo)

The claims, which cover social workers and non-social worker staff respectively, under the Equal Pay Act come after 1300 Oranga Tamariki social workers received significant pay rises and $173.5 million was set aside for 5000 mental health and addiction support workers last year.

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In 2018, women made up 83.8 per cent of registered social workers, according to the Social Workers Registration Board.

It said 40.8 per cent of those in non-governmental organisations (NGOs) earned between $30,001 and $50,000 and identified a pay gap between men and women with 35.4 per cent of men earning above $70,000.

Social worker Jacqueline Aberdein-Tapuai struggles to afford school costs for her four children on her income. The Wainuiomata mother has a master's degree and works with more than 600 children but said she earned less than she did as a bank clerk, 20 years ago.

Significant pay disparities existed within the community social services sector, she said.

She stuck it out because she loved her job and wanted to help out, 'not get rich'.

'I don't think people know what it's like. They assume we're quite well-paid. But after seven years on the job, I'm still paid at a graduate level.'

PSA national secretary Kerry Davies said workers at the not-for-profits worked, every day, with complex and difficult situations but many struggled to pay their bills.

'Whether it's helping families in crisis or supporting survivors of physical and sexual abuse.'

They shouldn't have to 'rattle the bucket' to receive fair pay. It highlighted issues with the funding model that left not-for-profits in a 'constant state of financial insecurity', she said.

The PSA had campaigned to have social service providers fully-funded by the Government because it relied on those organisations to address serious community problems, Davies said.

'The law does not allow female workers to continue being underpaid and undervalued, and the only way forward is if the government provides enough funding to fix the problem.'

The push for pay equity comes as teachers' aides urge the government to settle their pay equity claim, saying underpayment for their work has dragged out long enough.

Minister for Women Julie Anne Genter said she wanted all women in all workplaces to be fairly paid.

'The gender pay gap is a long-term problem that we have started to tackle, and the increased number of claims and subsequent settlements will contribute to the goal of ensuring all women are paid fairly for the work they do.

'In Budget 2019 we also announced an increase of $25 million across MSD social services and $27 million across Oranga Tamariki NGOs, however we know that there is more to do.'