After years of struggle, Lower Hutt aged care worker, Kristine Bartlett reflects on the landmark decision by Government to give pay equity to about 55,000 of her low paid, mainly female colleagues.

The Government has announced a $2 billion package to address the pay inequity in the predominantly female aged care sector.

The deal will see more than 55,000 workers receive a minimum pay rise of $4 an hour, going up by as much as $7 an hour in some cases.

The pay increase will cost the Government more than $2b over the next four years. For the workers, it won't be backdated but will take immediate effect on July 1.

CRAIG SIMCOX/FAIRFAX NZ Aged care worker Kristine Bartlett has lead a Union fight over low wages for women workers. Now, the Government has announced the details of an historic pay deal, following two years of negotiations.

While the deal only applies to aged-care workers, Health Minister Jonathan Coleman said it was the biggest pay settlement "in New Zealand history".

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It was expected to have a flow-on effect to other industries, and the Government hoped it would encourage businesses to make greater moves in addressing the overall gender pay gap in New Zealand.

FAIRFAX NZ Prime Minister Bill English has announced the details of a major deal to address pay inequity in a number of female-dominated industries.

Coleman said the "dedicated and predominantly female workforce" who were mostly on or around minimum wage would receive a pay rise between around 15 and 50 per cent depending on their qualifications and or experience.

"For the 20,000 workers currently on the minimum wage of $15.75 per hour, it means on July 1 they will move to at least $19 per hour, a 21 per cent pay rise. For a full-time worker, this means they will be taking home around an extra $100 a week, which is over $5000 a year," Coleman said.

"For these 55,000 workers, this funding boost will see wages increase to between $19 and $27 per hour over five years. Existing workers will be transitioned to positions on the new pay scale which reflect their skills, and their experience."

The settlement would be funded through an increase of $1.856 billion to Vote Health and $192 million to ACC.



Coleman said ACC levies were already set for the coming years, "but may possibly increase over the next decade to support this".



"However, that is not definite. There may also be an increase in costs for people in aged residential care facilities, whose assets keep them above the subsidy threshold."



That would be determined through the annual Aged Residential Care contract negotiations.

Workers' lives are now 'worth living'

FAIRFAX NZ Minister of Health Jonathan Coleman has been leading negotiations with the aged care sector and unions - securing pay equity across the aged care sector and providing the basis for other industries to follow suit.

The settlement is the result of the fight of one woman - Kristine Bartlett, an aged care worker from Lower Hutt.

Fronting union legal action on behalf of thousands of her colleagues, she argued in court in 2012 that her employer TerraNova was under-paying staff because of the high percentage of female employees.

Visibly emotional on Tuesday, Bartlett said she was struggling to find the words to describe what the settlement meant for herself and her colleagues.

"It's been a wonderful day, and it's been a long time - five years - but we've done it."

Through her fight, Bartlett encountered many stories of workers struggling to get by.

"Get sick, can't afford to go to the doctors; come to work without food; walk in the rain because they've got no bus fare. So this is going to be the biggest pay rise we'll ever get and it will be such a life-changer."

She had a message for women who felt they were not being paid their worth.

"Stand up. Speak. Get your supporters, which I've been so thankful for, and just be strong. If you don't stand up for your rights, you're not going to get anywhere."

Her landmark Court of Appeal decision found women in predominantly female workforces could make a claim for pay equity under the Equal Pay Act.

In response, the Government set up a working group to develop principles for dealing with pay equity claims, and introducing legislation late last year that meant employees could file pay equity claims directly with their employer, rather than through the courts.

That was alongside two years of direct negotiations with unions, over a pay deal in the aged care sector.

The unions involved - E Tu, the Nurses Organisation, the Public Service Association and the Council of Trade Unions - have welcomed the settlement.

Bartlett said it would make lives "worthwhile".

"It will give us dignity and pride and make our lives worthwhile, knowing we're being paid what we are actually worth. After years of struggling on low wages, hopefully we're going to have a bit left over to actually enjoy life."



Tens of thousands of care and support workers would now vote on the proposed settlement in coming weeks.



E tū Assistant National Secretary, John Ryall said the offer, once ratified would mean a "once in a lifetime pay rise which will end poverty wages for this mainly female workforce and set them on the path to a better life.

"We're delighted today's proposed settlement recognises the justice of Kristine's case and the wonderful work of Kristine and other professional carers."

The details of the package:

An aged residential care worker on the minimum wage of $15.75 per hour, with three years' experience, would be looking at a pay rise of about $140 per week on July 1. Her rate would increase by 27 per cent to $20 per hour, and progressively increase to $23 per hour by July 1, 2021 - a 46 percent increase overall.

If she attained a Level 3 qualification, her rate would increase to $25 per hour in 2021 - a 58.7 percent overall increase.



In the short-term, the take-home pay for a minimum wage worker would increase by around $140 a week, or $7,000 a year from July.

In the case of Bartlett, while her pay settlement remains confidential, as a worker on the minimum wage, with no qualification but more than 12 years' experience, her rate could go from $15.75 to $23.50 on July 1. By year five, her rate would be $27 an hour – a total increase of 71 per cent.

Kristine Bartlett "a hero"

Ahead of the settlement's announcement, Labour leader Andrew Little said this would be a victory for the perseverance and determination of Bartlett and the unions.

"But make no mistake, the Government has been dragged kicking and screaming to this point, having had lawyers at each appeal stage of the original case opposing lower court decisions on pay equity determinations."

Green Party women's spokeswoman Jan Logie said women had been "consciously underpaid" for too long.

"Kristine Bartlett is a hero for her determination to see women paid more – despite Government interventions and stalling – and so are the thousands of other women who have joined her in this fight."

Logie had a bill in Parliament's ballot which would see gender pay indexes published, so any pay gaps within businesses and organisations would be transparent.