Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2014, published 104th ILC session (2015)

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

The Committee notes the observations of the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU) and Business New Zealand (Business NZ), submitted by the Government with its report, and the Government’s reply.

Article 2 of the Convention. Access to employment and vocational training – Maori and Pacific Island people. The Committee notes the Government’s continued commitment to improving the educational and skill levels and the employment situation of Maori and Pacific Island people. The Committee notes that new education strategies have been put in place for Maori (the “Ka Hikitia-Accelerating Success” 2013–17) and that the Pacific Economic Action Plan has been superseded by the Pasifika Education Plan 2013–17, the Pacific Employment Support Services (PESS) and the Pacific Senior Leadership Management Programme. Equity funding is also provided to a number of institutes, universities and “Wananga” (Maori tertiary education institutions), as well as to individual Maori and Pacific Island students with a view to improving equal access and achievement. The Office of Ethnic Affairs is taking measures to promote ethnic diversity in occupation and employment. With respect to the Tertiary Education Strategy 2010–15, the Committee notes the progress made between 2005 and 2012 in the completion rates of Maori and Pacific Island people five years after enrolling in tertiary education (for 2008–12 completion rates were 49 per cent for Maori and 51 per cent for Pacific Island people, compared with 42 per cent and 41 per cent, respectively, for 2001–05). While welcoming these measures, the Committee notes that the participation of Maori and Pacific Island people remains low, and even decreased in industry training (as of 2012, 14.6 per cent of the total trainees were Maori and 7 per cent were Pacific Island people), and in the Modern Apprenticeships scheme (now the New Zealand Apprenticeships scheme) (as of 2012, 13.8 per cent of total apprentices were Maori and 2.4 per cent were Pacific Island people). According to the NZCTU, Maori and Pacific Island people remain disadvantaged relative to the general population in terms of unemployment (the unemployment rate is 5 per cent for “Europeans”, 12.8 per cent for Maori and 16.3 per cent for Pacific Island workers), and wages (in 2013, “Pakeha” workers (of European descent) had average hourly earnings of 27.08 New Zealand Dollars (NZD), while the rate was NZD$22.45 for Maori, and NZD$20.59 for Pacific Island workers). The Committee requests the Government to indicate the results achieved so far by the various initiatives to improve the educational and skill levels and employment opportunities of men and women belonging to Maori and Pacific Island people, and particularly the measures taken to increase further the participation levels of Maori and Pacific Island people in industry training and the New Zealand Apprenticeships scheme. The Committee also requests the Government to make further efforts to address continuing inequalities, including wage disparities, faced by Maori and Pacific Island people, and to provide information on the progress made in this regard. Please continue to provide statistics disaggregated by sex on the participation and completion rates of Maori and Pacific Island people in vocational training and education and their participation in employment in the public and private sectors.

Access to employment and vocational training – Women. The Committee notes that the participation levels of women in courses provided by industry training organizations, and particularly the New Zealand Apprenticeships scheme, remain low (33.2 per cent and 11.7 per cent, respectively). The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the efforts made by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MWA) to increase the profile of women in non-traditional work and through education and industry-led initiatives, including the positive results achieved by the Women in Power Initiative led by the Electricity Supply Industry Training Organization. The Committee also notes that Business NZ refers to research carried out by the MWA showing that at around the ages of 13 and 14 many girls appear to lose interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM subjects), but that it is unclear whether this relates to traditional employment biases. Business NZ adds that considerable efforts are being made to increase interest in these subjects. Furthermore, the Committee notes from the Government’s report that research commissioned by the MWA and launched in September 2013 puts forward recommendations to make better use of women’s skills in the context of the increased opportunities in the construction industry following the Canterbury earthquakes. In this regard, Business NZ considers that the Canterbury rebuild is likely to provide good opportunities to introduce women in a wider range of careers. While supporting initiatives to provide opportunities for young women to enter “male-dominated trades”, the NZCTU indicates that women in the retail and accommodation sectors have been most affected by job losses following the Canterbury earthquakes and that due attention should be given to retraining and supporting them. Noting the Government’s efforts to encourage women to enter predominately male sectors, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the results achieved by these measures, including in the context of the Canterbury rebuild in terms of improving opportunities for women in a wider range of careers. The Committee also requests the Government to continue taking measures to improve further the participation of women in industry training and the New Zealand Apprenticeships scheme, and to provide information, including statistics disaggregated by sex, on any progress made in this regard.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.