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Women public servants work overtime for no pay -- survey


One in five women employed in the public sector work overtime for no extra pay, a new survey has found.

NZPA
Wed, 08 Jun 2011

One in five women employed in the public sector work overtime for no extra pay, a new survey has found.

The survey of 7292 women Public Service Association (PSA) members, conducted by Victoria University's industrial relations centre, found more than 50 percent of respondents worked more hours than they were contracted for, but only 14 percent of those were paid to do so.

PSA national secretary Brenda Pilott said women members were estimated to contribute 2.5 million hours of unpaid work each year, which was worth about $54.5 million and equivalent to 1360 full-time jobs.

"Public servants work hard and are committed to getting the job done. But the extent of additional hours worked is not recognised, not valued and is probably not sustainable when it's being used to prop up under-resourced agencies and unfilled vacancies," she said.

A fifth of the PSA's roughly 40,000 women members responded to the survey last June, making it the most comprehensive study of women public servants in New Zealand to date.

The survey found about 60 percent of workers had some flexibility in scheduling work hours, but more than 30 percent had little or no opportunity to vary their hours.

Flexible working arrangement were not more common due to fears about job security and not wanting to burden co-workers.

The survey also found high rates of unfair management practices and workplace bullying, with 43 percent saying they had felt bullied at their current workplace and 33 percent saying they had experienced discrimination.

Victoria University researcher Sarah Proctor-Thomson said risk factors that made women feel victimised at work included pressure to put in extra hours, systemic work pressure and the denial of flexible work requests.

"Taken together, increasing work pressures, uncertain career pathways, the low uptake of flexible work policies and perceptions of unfair or inconsistent performance management practices pose significant risks to the health and well-being of New Zealand workers and to the productivity of our public sector," she said.

Dr Proctor-Thomson said there were some positives in the survey, with the majority of women keen to develop and progress in their careers.

"Nevertheless, women felt that career pathways were unclear and prospects for achieving their career goals were limited."

The survey found the average salary for women public servants was $43,185 before tax, with 68 percent of those surveyed earning less than $60,000 gross a year.

Copies of the survey have been sent to the ministers responsible for state services, labour and women's affairs.

NZPA
Wed, 08 Jun 2011
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Women public servants work overtime for no pay -- survey
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