Government to consider equal pay bill
New bill to be considered, but it's not without problems.
A proposal to allow workers to know whether or not their pay packet measures up to those of their colleagues is being considered by the government.
Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner Dr Judy McGregor has proposed a new Pay Equality Bill, under which bosses would have to let staff know pay rates of their coworkers.
Pay equity has been the topic of the moment after Employers and Manufacturers Association (EMA) Northern chief executive Alasdair Thompson made comments about women getting paid less because they took more sick leave due to menstruation.
However, while the bill is to be considered, the government has concerns about privacy issues.
On TV One’s Breakfast, Prime Minister John Key said there were obvious problems.
“You have to be careful of is unintended consequences and privacy issues. So in a very small workplace, you could see how that create real tension.”
Mr Key said people get paid different rates for the same job for many reasons, such as an employee being head-hunting from another company.
The bill would see employers recording pay differences between male and female workers.
Employers would not be allowed to withhold the information, and employees who were hard done by would be able to take the matter to the Labour Department.
NBR staff
Mon, 04 Jul 2011
Mon, 04 Jul 2011
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Government to consider equal pay bill
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