Women have been denied the opportunity to know when they are being underpaid, by a Government that is not prioritising women’s issues, the Green Party said today. “When the Government voted against my bill this evening, they denied women the right to know if they are being underpaid in the workplace,” Green Party women’s spokesperson Jan Logie said. “My member’s bill would have had employers adding gender to their payroll reporting requirements, and allowed employees access to that aggregated information...

MPs have the opportunity to support women being paid what they’re worth by voting for Jan Logie’s Equal Pay Amendment Bill in Parliament tonight, the Green Party said. The Bill would get employers to add gender as a payroll reporting requirement and allow employees to request access to this information to ensure that they are being paid fairly. “It’s wrong that women are still earning so much less than men in 2017, and I want each MP to ask themselves...

The ‘secure care’ that children are experiencing whilst in Oranga Tamariki custody is barbaric and must stop immediately, the Green Party said today. The widespread use of seclusion and restraint practices on children, mentally ill people, and other adults across New Zealand’s detention facilities is highlighted in a United Nations-funded report released today, ordered by the Human Rights Commission. Over the six months that the report looked into, 20 children aged between 11 and 15 in Care and Protection residences...

A draft National Party Bill will put more barriers in the way of women seeking to be paid fairly, the Green Party said today. “This Bill will scrap the Equal Pay Act and in effect overturn the Terranova court ruling. That ruling established the right to look outside of the affected industry for a comparable job”, says Green Party women’s spokesperson Jan Logie. “This means it will be harder for women to make a case for the gendered underpayment of...

Payday has been hard fought for by women who work in the aged-care, home support and disability service sector, thanks to Kristine Bartlett, unions and supporters around the country, the Green Party said today. The Government is expected to announce a settlement in the historic pay-equity case today, with 55,000 mostly female workers set to receive a pay rise. “Women have been consciously underpaid and have been fighting for more pay for far too long. Today’s announcement is long overdue,”...

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/91311264/naenae-church-demands-government-action-on-vacant-housing-nz-land

The record number of children in Child, Youth, and Family (CYF) care shows large problems in the social fabric of New Zealand, the Green Party said today. The number of children and young people in CYF custody has increased from 5,159 to 5,453, according to new figures released. “All of our children deserve a fair go. But the record number of kids in CYF care shows we are going the wrong way. CYF is having to pick up the pieces...

The Green Party is thrilled to have had a Member’s Bill drawn from the ballot today that offers a concrete solution to fix the gender pay imbalance in New Zealand. Green Party MP Jan Logie’s Equal Pay Amendment Bill was today pulled from the ballot. If passed, it will require all employers to publish information about how much men and women are paid for doing the same job in their organisation. Women currently earn 13 percent less per hour, on...

The Green Party is congratulating Māori organisations on their victory after Anne Tolley today indicated that the Government is going back to the drawing board on reforms to Child, Youth and Family (CYFs) that would have removed the prioritisation of whānau-first placements for tamariki Māori.

The Government’s small steps on family violence announced today are a move in the right direction, but more needs to be done, the Green Party said today. “The Government has taken some important steps today, but there is still a lot that needs to be done to end domestic violence in Aotearoa New Zealand,” Green Party women’s spokesperson Jan Logie said.  “There are a couple of critically important issues that we would’ve liked the Government to address today. “The Government...