Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018)

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

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

Article 2 of the Convention. Access to employment and vocational training – Maori and Pacific Island people. The Committee notes the extensive information provided by the Government on the various initiatives undertaken with a view to improving the educational and skill levels of men and women belonging to Maori and Pacific Island people, as well as their employment opportunities, including the Ethnic People in Commerce New Zealand (EPIC NZ) initiative, the Maori and Pasifika Trades Training Initiative, and the Youth Guarantee Scheme. The Committee notes, in particular, that during 2015, there were 135,941 funded trainees participating in industry training, of which 17.2 per cent were Maori, 8.4 per cent were Pacific Island people, and 33.4 per cent were women. It also notes that the number of funded New Zealand apprentices participating in industry training increased from 14,886 in 2012, to 25,238 in 2015, and the percentage of participants from Maori and Pacific Island people changed from 15.4 per cent and 2.7 per cent, to 14.6 per cent and 4.9 per cent, respectively. The Committee notes that women’s participation declined from 11.7 per cent to 7.6 per cent. In this regard, the Committee notes the NZCTU’s observation that training funding is targeted to male-dominated trades, such as plumbing, construction and electrician training.

The Committee notes from the Government’s report that although the qualification achievement rates for Maori and Pacific Island people are improving, including in post-secondary school qualifications, they remain below those for other ethnic groups. The Government indicates that the new Tertiary Education Strategy (TES) 2014–19 sets out to enhance the achievement of Maori and Pacific Island people by recognizing their diverse needs. The Committee also notes that under the Te Puni Kōkiri Cadetships Initiative which aims to increase Maori achievement in higher-level qualifications, partnerships are established with employers in targeted industries, including energy, infrastructure telecommunications, transport/logistics, food processing, and knowledge-intensive manufacturing or primary industries (excluding the forestry sector). Further, the number of cadets remaining in employment has increased since 2009 from 71 per cent, to 100 per cent in 2013–14. The Committee, however, notes from the NZCTU’s observations that, according to the Human Rights Commission Tracking Equality at Work tool, Maori and Pacific Island people are falling behind all other ethnicities, with young Maori and Pacific Island women being particularly marginalized. The Committee asks the Government to continue its efforts to improve the educational and skill levels and employment opportunities of men and women belonging to Maori and Pacific Island people, and to provide information regarding their impact on addressing existing inequalities faced by Maori and Pacific Island people in practice. The Committee also asks the Government to provide information on the implementation of the He kai kei aku ringa partnership between the Crown and the Maori aimed at promoting Maori economic development, including information on any measures adopted or envisaged to ensure their right to engage, without discrimination, in their traditional occupations and livelihoods. The Committee also asks the Government to 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 the Government’s indication that in the aftermath of the earthquakes in Canterbury, the Ministry for Women’s Affairs (MWA) established partnerships with a number of industries and community leaders and local training providers with a view to improving women’s employment, helping meet skill shortages in Canterbury and promoting the involvement of women in trades. The Committee notes that in 2014 the Women in Trades Scholarship initiative was also introduced at the Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology (CPIT), covering tuition fees for women studying towards a Level 1–4 Trades programme at CPIT. The Government indicates that female enrolments in trades training at CPIT increased from 50 in 2011, to 414 in 2014. The Government also states that in the December 2015 quarter there were 1,700 more women employed in the construction industry in Canterbury than in the same quarter in the previous year, accounting for 16.7 per cent of construction workers in Canterbury. The Committee notes the NZCTU’s observation that, while the MWA’s campaign to encourage women’s access into sectors traditionally dominated by men has had some success in Canterbury, overall the number of women in apprenticeships remains low, with women representing approximately 10 per cent of all apprentices. The NZCTU indicates that the number of female industry trainees is relatively static with 40,474 in 2012 and 40,733 in 2014, whereas women represent more than 80 per cent of the trainees in the traditionally female dominated industry areas of community support, services and hairdressing. The Committee notes the NZCTU’s recommendation that additional measures would be required to increase the participation of women in the apprenticeship training schemes. The NZCTU further points out that women graduates predominate in health/medicine, education, law, management and commerce, while their numbers continue to be relatively low in engineering, information and related technologies. The Committee asks the Government to continue taking steps to improve further the participation of women in industry training and the New Zealand Apprenticeships scheme, and to promote their access to areas of study where the numbers have traditionally been low, such as engineering, science and technology, 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.