Payrise for low-wage workers in aged care and home support #genderpaygap

About 55,000 low-paid workers, mainly women, are about to get one of the biggest pay rises ever after details of a historic pay equity settlement are revealed today. The deal will cost the Government more than $500 million a year when fully implemented in five years, assuming it is signed off by union members and the Cabinet. The settlement will mean hefty pay increases from July in three government-funded service sectors which employ mainly women on low rates: aged residential care, home support, disability services. Prime Minister Bill English says today’s historic pay equity deal is likely to have ramifications for the private sector. –NZ Herald

At Facebook:

The Herald understands that for the primary litigant, rest home caregiver Kristine Bartlett, it will mean an increase from about $16 an hour to about $23 an hour, more than 43 per cent. […] The case is the first legal settlement in New Zealand that recognises that some jobs pay less because they are done mainly by women. […] The Service and Food Workers’ Union lodged a claim on Bartlett’s behalf with the Employment Relations Authority in 2012. […] The union took the case on behalf of Bartlett and 14 other union members of the 110 employed by Terranova rest home. Their wages were effectively set by the government subsidy paid by the Ministry of Health for rest home services. The case was elevated to the Employment Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court. But once the Court of Appeal confirmed that pay equity cases could be heard under the Equal Pay Act of 1972, the Government stepped into the process because it was loath to leave a case with such far-reaching repercussions solely in the court’s hands.

At Twitter:

About 55,000 low-paid workers, mainly women, are about to get one of the biggest pay rises ever https://t.co/VuQjLZOB7O pic.twitter.com/4wCjcpDDE2

— nzherald (@nzherald) April 17, 2017

Equal pay settlement reached – caregivers wages to increase https://t.co/d9CwRXGOA1 #equalpay #caregivers #nzagedcare #resthomes

— INsite NZ (@INsite_NZ) April 17, 2017

Big pay rise for women as a result of historic pay equity settlement https://t.co/L33ItTcrjz via @nzherald pic.twitter.com/IzL8Uq7YCS

— NZ Human Rights (@NZHumanRights) April 17, 2017

Exciting to see the settlement of this historic pay equity case: one step closer to closing the #genderpaygap! https://t.co/YfQQqRLV2M pic.twitter.com/SxSqwEudN2

— NZGlobalWomen (@NZGlobalWomen) April 18, 2017

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A U D I O

### radionz.co.nz Tue, 18 March 2017 at 8:11 a.m.
Morning Report with Susie Ferguson and Guyon Espiner
money life and society
Low-paid women are at parliament today for an announcement on pay
Tax specialist Deborah Russell says an announcement today on a reported big pay rise for women in low-paid work.
Audio | Download: Ogg MP3 (4′40″)

The New Zealand GST burden:

### radionz.co.nz Tue, 18 March 2017 at 8:15 a.m.
Morning Report with Susie Ferguson and Guyon Espiner
economy
NZ wage earners among the lowest taxed in OECD
A new report from the OECD shows out of 35 countries New Zealand and Chile workers are taxed the least, and those in Belguim and France the most. As Patrick O’Meara report, this comes as the Government considers tax cuts for low and middle income workers.
Audio | Download: Ogg MP3 (3′50″)

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

This post is offered in the public interest.

DCC Citifleet: Police finishing final report

### ODT Online Wed, 16 Sep 2015
Final Citifleet fraud report not finished
By Chris Morris
Dunedin police are still working to finalise a report into the $1.5 million Citifleet fraud, despite announcing in June no charges would be laid, it has been confirmed. The development came as it was confirmed an earlier police report into the Dunedin City Council’s long-running fraud was released to media despite internal concerns from senior police it was out of date, emails showed.
Read more

● The Department of Internal Affairs was keeping a close eye on the Dunedin City Council’s handling of the Citifleet fraud investigation, documents show. (ODT)

█ For more, enter the terms *citifleet*, *bachop*, *bidrose* or *vandervis* in the search box at right.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

DCC Citifleet: Council steered off SFO investigation

Link received.
Mon, 7 Sep 2015 at 9:47 p.m.

█ Message: Spot the difference – a Maori group gets the SFO while Dunedin Ratepayers get a lowly detective.

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### NZ Herald Online 3:59 PM Monday Sep 7, 2015
Tertiary funding probe: SFO called in as centre agrees to pay back $7.5 million
By Steve Deane
A senior manager is dead and a Serious Fraud Office investigation has been launched following a probe into an agricultural college that uncovered millions of dollars of unjustified taxpayer funding.
The results of a Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) investigation into funding irregularities at Taratahi Agricultural Training Centre were released this afternoon following investigations by the Herald.
Taratahi’s former chief executive, Dr Donovan Wearing, died suddenly in January – three months after the TEC confirmed it was undertaking a ‘targeted review’ of the organisation.
The Herald has been told Dr Wearing addressed staff at the sprawling campus just outside Masterton about the investigation on January 21. The 52-year-old father of six was later found in a critical condition in a shed on campus grounds. He was taken to Wellington Hospital where he died at 10.30pm.
Dr Wearing’s death has been referred to the coroner.
Read more

█ For more, enter the terms *citifleet*, *deloitte*, *vandervis*, *detectives* and *bidrose* in the search box at right.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

DCC reality check —‘CEO Bidrose confirms no Vandervis complaint with a hug’

Received from Lee Vandervis
Sun, 15 Feb 2015 at 7:08 p.m.

—— Forwarded Message
From: Lee Vandervis
Date: Sun, 15 Feb 2015 19:07:29 +1300
To: Chris Morris [ODT], Debbie Porteous [ODT], EditorODT, Nick Smith [ODT]
Conversation: CEO Bidrose confirms no Vandervis complaint with a hug.
Subject: CEO Bidrose confirms no Vandervis complaint with a hug.

Dear Chris and Co,

CEO Bidrose has this weekend confirmed in public, with a hug, that she has not made any complaint of me, that she was out of town when she received my latest email alerting her to a legal issue in the non-public section of the Council meeting underway when we spoke in the hallway, and that her secretary had not read through the email to the legal issue and alerted her prior to the meeting in which Mayor Cull attempted to push the issue through.
The legal issue related to Mayor Cull’s false claim that he was personally empowered to select the membership of the Code of Conduct Committee [against me], when this power is clearly that of the whole Council as detailed in Standing Orders J4.1 and in the Committee Structure and Delegations Manual.
This came on top of Mayor Cull’s falsely claiming statements supposedly made by me at the 3/11/14 Council meeting, and his then immediately demanding that I withdraw these statements which I did not make. Mayor Cull then used my refusal to withdraw the statements as a pretext to eject me from the meeting, all of which the video proves. This was the essence of my Code of Conduct Complaint against Mayor Cull of 10/12/14. Two subsequent Code of Conduct Complaints against me by Greater Dunedin Chairpersons do not mention any swearing or expletives and seem to be personal ‘tone’ attacks to deflect from on-going Mayoral abuses of his position and the Mayor’s attempts to silence my concerns.

Kind regards,
Cr. Lee Vandervis

PS Chris – You are back to recorded medium only comment from me. You have again invented news rather than honestly reporting it.
—— End of Forwarded Message

Related Posts and Comments:
6.2.15 Cr Lee Vandervis apology
5.1.15 DCC: Chairman denies true and correct Council record

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr