Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2007, published 97th ILC session (2008)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - New Zealand (Ratification: 1983)

1. Article 1 of the Convention. Sexual harassment. The Committee notes the information in the Government’s report concerning the complaints received by the Human Rights Commission on sexual harassment in the workplace. Noting, however, that the Government does not provide any specific information on the practical measures taken to promote workplaces free from sexual harassment, the Committee hopes that such information will be included in the Government’s next report. 

2. Discrimination of transgender people. The Committee notes from the comments by New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU) that in 2006 a Crown Law Opinion considered that “sex” as a prohibited ground for discrimination under the Human Rights Act would include “transgender”. The Committee notes that research carried out by the Human Rights Commission (HRC) in 2004 and 2005 showed that transgender people face discrimination and that serious concerns exist concerning the human rights status of transgender people. The HRC has recently started an inquiry on experiences of discrimination with the aim of developing strategies to reduce discrimination of transgender people. The Committee asks the Government to keep it informed of the outcome of the research undertaken by the HRC regarding the situation of transgender people and on the strategies proposed and action taken to address discrimination against them in employment and occupation. Please also provide information on complaints submitted to the HRC and the courts regarding sex discrimination of transgender people.

3. Article 1(1)(b). Other grounds (disability). The Committee notes the extensive information in the Government’s report regarding the activities of the various ministries, especially the Ministry for Social Development, to promote equal opportunities for persons with disabilities and to address discrimination against them in employment and occupation. The Government is requested to continue to provide information on the measures taken to promote equality of opportunity and treatment for persons with disabilities in the workplace.

4. Articles 2 and 3. General measures to promote equality of opportunity and treatment between men and women. Further to its previous comments on measures to assist workers with family responsibilities, the Committee notes with interest the adoption of the Parental Leave and Employment Protection (Paid Parental Leave for Self Employment Persons) Amendment Act of 2006, and the development of an Employment Relations (Flexible Working Hours) Amendment which would provide a specific right for qualifying employees with children to request flexible working hours or working days. The Committee notes the exchange between the Government and Business New Zealand (Business NZ) and the NZCTU on these legislative developments, as well as the NZCTU’s suggestion that further legislative change is needed to ensure that no uncertainty exists about women’s right to breastfeed at work. It also notes the Government’s statement that until now very few male partners have utilized the parental leave entitlements. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the following: (1) the impact of the parental leave legislation on achieving equality in the workplace and the measures taken to encourage more fathers to take up such leave; (2) any legislative steps taken to ensure the right to breastfeed at work; and (3) the progress made in the adoption of the draft legislation on flexible working hours, taking into account the comments by Business NZ and the NZCTU.

5. Access to vocational training and education. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that the low participation rate of women (26.7 per cent) in courses provided by industry training organizations (ITOs) is due to historical factors related to traditional employment patterns and segmentation of the labour market. Industries that tended to be male dominated were well placed to access funding from the Industry Training Fund (ITF) in the past. The Committee further notes the NZCTU’s concern that the Modern Apprenticeship Scheme has not yet been fully extended to female-dominated work areas and that there continues to be a low uptake by young women of apprenticeships in traditionally male-dominated industries. The NZCTU proposes to extend or remove the upper-age limit for the scheme so that more workers from a range of backgrounds and sectors (i.e. women, migrants and new settlers, Maori, Pacific Island people, Asians, people with disabilities, etc.) would be able to apply for the scheme. Noting that the Equal Employment Opportunities (EEO) Commissioner is making efforts to address the under-representation of women and to improve diversity in the Modern Apprenticeship Scheme, and that the ITF is taking measures to promote the spread of industry training into new industries that are female dominated, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on the results achieved with respect to a more balanced representation of men and women in vocational training programmes. 

6. Achieving equality in public service. The Committee notes from the “EEO Progress Report in the Public Service – 2000-2004” published by the States Services Commission (SSC) that Maori made up 17 per cent and Pacific peoples 7.1 per cent of the public servants, and tend to be clustered into the associate professionals group, while being under-represented in the professionals, managerial and science/technical occupation groups. While the overall number of Pacific senior managers remained low, the retention rate for Pacific managers was higher than the rate for all managers. However, retention rates for Maori managers and professionals were markedly lower than the overall rates for those occupations. The number of female Maori senior managers however increased. With regard to the “other ethnic groups” category, the progress report indicates that they were mainly employed in the professional group and that their proportion in senior management was also generally higher than that of Maori, Pacific peoples and Asian groups. European public servants, as the largest group in the public service, were highly represented in the professionals, managers and science/technical occupations groups, and made up 89 per cent of the senior managers. With respect to women’s representation in the public service, the progress report shows an increase from 56 per cent in 2000 to 59 per cent in 2004. However, male public servants had considerably higher representation than female public servants in the managers, science/technical and personal and protective services workers occupation groups. In 2004, female public servants accounted for 36 per cent of senior managers (tier 1, 2 and 3 managers). The Committee notes in this regard the comment by the NZCTU that the expectation in the public service that senior workers and managers are available for long work hours, both evenings and weekends, is a barrier to women from applying for such jobs. The Committee notes that the Government has embarked on a Five-Year Plan of Action on Pay and Employment Equity in the public service and the public health and public education sectors, and that pay and employment equity reviews are meant to be completed by the end of 2008. Noting that the SSC is developing a new Public Service Equal Employment Opportunities/Diversity Policy, the Committee hopes that this policy will include measures to address the occupational segregation of the public service along ethnic and gender lines, particularly with respect to management positions. The Committee asks the Government to keep it informed of the adoption of the policy and its implementation, as well as of the outcome of the pay and employment equity reviews. Please also continue to provide statistical information, disaggregated by sex and ethnic group, on the progress made in achieving equality in the public service.

7. Collective agreements and workplace initiatives. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that the number of EEO provisions in collective employment contracts and agreements increased from 17 per cent in 2001 to 18.3 per cent in 2006 and that 2 per cent of the current collective employment agreements contain explicit references to Maori, and 55 per cent contained culturally sensitive bereavement leave provisions. It also notes that 93 per cent of the EEO Employers’ Group had a policy or strategy in 2005 and that one third had an action plan to implement their policy or strategy. Twenty-two per cent of private sector employers had a documented plan compared to 55 per cent of public sector respondents. Business NZ, however, questions whether the existence of such plans and policies is any real indication of workplace diversity. The Committee asks the Government to indicate the practical impact of the EEO plans and policies in respect of achieving equal treatment in access to jobs and in their terms and conditions of employment for the workers covered. Please also continue to supply statistical data on the progress achieved in including EEO provisions in collective employment contracts and agreements as well as in the adoption of EEO plans and policies, both in the public and private sectors.

8. Action by national institutions to promote equality in the workplace. The Committee notes the National Equal Opportunities Network (NEON), a web site created in partnership with the Human Rights Commission (HRC) and the EEO Trust, which provides information about the status of women, Maori and Pacific people as well as other ethnic groups in the workplace and information on employment discrimination. It also notes the new projects launched by the EEO Trust on different aspects of diversity and flexibility at work. The National Advisory Council on the Employment of Women (NACEW) also developed a strategic plan for 2004–07 focusing on the promotion of valued quality work, equipping women with choice and influencing future directions for women in the workplace. It notes that, in this context, a research project has started aimed at improving the situation of women in precarious employment, in particular in the homecare, residential and cleaning sectors. The Committee welcomes the activities by the various state bodies relating to the application of the Convention, and asks the Government to indicate in its next report the specific impact they have had in achieving greater equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation.

9. Enforcement. The Committee notes the information on the personal grievance complaints brought to the Employment Relations Authority and the Mediation Service of the Department of Labour. It also notes that 38 per cent of the complaints dealt with by the HRC in 2005 were complaints and inquiries relating to discrimination in employment and pre-employment, the majority of them dealing with discrimination based on age, disability, race, sex and sexual harassment. More than half of the complaints were submitted by women and a large number were submitted by New Zealand Europeans and Maori. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information in its reports on decisions of the courts and other relevant bodies relating to discrimination in employment and occupation.