January 29, 2019
Crown failure behind lower wāhine pay
One of the claimants in a Waitangi Tribunal claim brought on behalf of Māori women public servants says the Government needs to be held to account for the way it pays its Māori women staff less.
The claim brought by the Public Service Association’s Te Rūnanga o Ngā Toa Āwhina will be considered as part of the generic mana wahine claim.
Marcia Puru, one of the four claimants, says it alleges crown actions and policies have systematically discriminated against Māori women in breach of the Treaty Of Waitangi.
"That’s the failure round the education system to adequately prepare wāhine Māori for meaningful employment, the failure to eliminate bias and discrimination in the workplace, and failure to consistently fund services that should be enhancing the lives of wāhine Māori and their whānau," she says.
Ms Puru says the debate over equal pay has helped bring the issues to the fore, with Pākehā women public servants being paid on average 13 percent less than their male counterparts and Māori women earning 22 percent less.
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