Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2024, published 113rd ILC session (2025)

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

Articles 2 and 3. Achieving equality in the public service. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that one of the equal employment opportunities programmes for the public service which is being implemented under the Public Service Act 2020 is the Public Service Diversity and Inclusion Programme (Papa Pounamu). It focuses on five mandatory priority areas (addressing bias, building relationships, building cultural competence, supporting employee-led networks and inclusive leadership) which chief executives must put in place through concrete actions in their organizations. Public Service organizations are required to report progress in the Papa Pounamu priority areas in their annual reports. Further, the Public Service Commission has reported twice on diversity and inclusion progress across the system; the latest publication dates back to December 2022. Key findings outlined were that representation in the public service is increasing: (1) Female representation is at its highest (62 per cent in 2022 compared to 61 per cent in 2017); (2) Māori representation was at 16.7 per cent in 2022 compared to 16 per cent in 2017, Pacific Island representation at 10.6 per cent in 2022 compared to 8.7 per cent in 2017 and Asian representation at 13.4 per cent in 2022 compared to 9.4 per cent in 2017; (3) Public servants feel included at work; and (4) The pay gap for Asian, Māori and Pacific Island peoples is decreasing, though it remains high (12.4 per cent, 6.5 per cent and 17.7 per cent, respectively). The Committee further notes the Government’s indication that it is implementing the Public Service Gender, Māori, Pacific and Ethnic Pay Gaps Action Plan 2021–24 (Kia Toipoto) which includes actions across the pay and representation spectrum and seeks to achieve, within the next three years, substantial progress towards eliminating the pay gaps for all groups in the public service. The Committee also takes note of the observations of BusinessNZ indicating that, other than for the Asian population, the public sector’s ethnic composition is in line with that of the population generally: as of June 2022, Māori made up 17.4 per cent of the general population, Pacific Island people 8.1 per cent and Asian people 15.1 per cent. While the Committee welcomes the progress achieved, including within the Kia Toipoto in terms of access to public service jobs, it notes that the Government refers to the Papa Pounamu and Kia Toipoto without providing specific information on the concrete measures taken under these plans to address the vertical occupational segregation which was identified in the public service for women, Māori, and Pacific Island and Asian peoples. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the specific measures taken or envisaged to reduce the vertical occupational segregation based on ethnicity and gender, including within the framework of the Public Service Diversity and Inclusion Programme (Papa Pounamu) and the Public Service Gender, Māori, Pacific and Ethnic Pay Gaps Action Plan 2021–24 (Kia Toipoto). It also encourages the Government to pursue its efforts to ensure equal opportunities in the public service and to continue reporting on the progress achieved, including statistical data on employment and the pay gap in the public service, disaggregated by gender and ethnicity.

Equality of opportunity and treatment for men and women. Occupational gender segregation. Regarding the Committee’s previous request concerning paid parental leave, the Government indicates that, so far, there has been no evaluation of the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Amendment Act 2017. The Government does refer to an Analytical Paper of the Treasury on “The experiences of those who take parental leave within the public sector and the policies that support them“, which highlights that, in the public service, there is a general lack of comprehensive or easily available information on parental leave and that often, the best source of information is colleagues who had previously been on parental leave. The Committee also notes the NZCTU’s reiterated observation that despite the extension of paid parental leave entitlements, further reform is needed to increase the number of weeks of paid parental leave and raise the maximum weekly payment to promote the sharing of parental responsibilities. NZCTU explains that the maximum weekly payment is lower than the minimum wage payable for a standard 40-hour work week, which has the effect of disproportionately disadvantaging women workers, which in turn leads to women taking on a larger share of childcare responsibility in comparison to men. The Government also provides information on the “Apprenticeship Boost” training to encourage women’s participation in apprenticeship programmes. It is an initiative to help meet the strong demand for skilled tradespeople across New Zealand, and which supports firms to keep early-stage apprentices and hire new apprentices as part of recovery from the economic impacts of COVID-19. In this regard, the Committee notes BusinessNZ’s observation that the 2020 “Apprenticeship Boost” initiative is having considerable success and is encouraging more women to take on apprenticeships. The Committee also notes, from the concluding observations of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) that it welcomed the progress achieved since the consideration of the country last periodic report (2018). It however observes that CEDAW noted with concern that: (1) the measures adopted by the country to improve women’s employment are limited to parental leave and post-partum care, without addressing broader systemic issues, including intersecting forms of discrimination; and (2) that sexual harassment in the workplace is reported by 38 per cent of women in the labour force, with higher rates among disadvantaged groups of women (CEDAW/C/NZL/CO/9, 29 October 2024, paras 4, 5 and, 32). The Committee finally notes from the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report of 2024 that New Zealand ranks fourth in the Global Gender Gap Index. The Committee asks the Government to pursue its efforts to raise awareness among workers and employers on the new acquired rights following amendments to the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act in 2017. It also asks the Government to provide information on: (i) any measures taken to promote the reconciliation of family and work obligations and address any stereotypical assumptions that the main responsibility for family care lies with women; and (ii) the impact of the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Amendment Act 2017 on ensuring equality of opportunity and treatment between men and women.

Promoting equality with respect to race, colour and national extraction. Māori and Pacific Island peoples. The Government indicates that it is currently implementing seven Employment Action Plans in the framework of the Employment Strategy, all of which are focused on improving education, employment and training outcomes for the groups that they serve. Among these, the Committee takes note of the objectives and measures envisaged under the Māori Employment Action Plan (MEAP) (Te Mahere Whai Mahi Māori), the Pacific Employment Action Plan (PEAP), and the Former Refugees, Recent Migrant and Ethnic Communities Action Plan (FRRMEC), all launched in 2022. There is also intersectionality amongst the Employment Action Plans, for example the Women’s Employment Action Plan contains actions that have a focus on Māori and Pacific Island women. The Committee further notes, from the Report of the Ministry of Education on “How well is the education system supporting ākonga Māori to achieve education success as Māori?”, that: (1) Māori have high levels of participation in early learning; (2) the proportion of Māori (47.6 per cent) attending school regularly in 2020 continued to be lower than the national rate (64.2 per cent); and (3) a higher proportion of Māori are choosing to stay in school until at least their 17th birthday compared with 10 years ago, but this is still below the national rate (in 2020, 71.0 per cent of Māori remained in school until age 17 or above, compared with 83.5 per cent at the national level). The Committee notes, from the HRC’s Survey “Experiences of Workplace Bullying and Harassment in Aotearoa New Zealand”, that 39 per cent of workers surveyed experienced some form of racial harassment in the last five years. Finally, the Committee notes, from the concluding observations of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Child (CRC), the concerns about the persisting discrimination against children in situations of vulnerability, including Māori and Pacific Island children, children in out-of-family care and children with disabilities, noting especially their restricted ability to benefit from basic services, including education, health and protection, and to enjoy an adequate standard of living (CRC/C/NZL/CO/6, 28 February 2023, paragraph 15). The Committee encourages the Government to continue its efforts to enhance Māori and Pacific Island Peoples’ economic empowerment and access to training and employment, in particular in the framework of the various Employment Action Plans. In this regard, it requests the Government to provide specific information on: (i) the measures taken to implement the Māori Employment Action Plan and the Pacific Employment Action Plan; and (ii) the results achieved. Finally, the Committee asks the Government to continue to provide statistical information on the participation and completion rates of men and women, and Māori and Pacific Island peoples, in vocational training and education, and their participation rates in employment and occupation, disaggregated by occupational categories and positions, both in the public and private sectors.

Collective agreements and workplace initiatives. Furthermore, the Committee takes note of the Government’s information that, according to data from the Centre for Labour, Employment and Work: (1) equal employment opportunities and specific provisions for Māori in collective agreements often take the form of a “Māori worldview” (Tikanga Māori), with few provisions on the use of Māori language (Te Reo Māori) but some provisions around remuneration for Māori skills (Te Reo skills); (2) overall, 39 per cent of employees now have references to a Māori worldview in collective agreements, an increase from 36 per cent in 2021; (3) in central government, 57 per cent (an increase from 53 per cent in 2021), are on collective agreements which include references to Māori (worldview, language and skills); (4) these Māori-specific provisions are predominantly found in the central government context, mostly in education and training, in which 90 per cent of employees have a collective agreement containing references to Tikanga Māori; (5) Māori skills are found in the collective agreements of 30 per cent of employees overall, the same as in 2021, most of which are from central government where 48 per cent have clauses providing for use of or reference to Māori skills; and (6) these clauses are non-existent in local government and private sector collective agreements. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on: (i) the results achieved in improving equality of opportunity and treatment in employment in central government through the use of Māori-specific provisions; and (ii) any initiatives taken by workers’ and employers’ organizations to promote the principle of the Convention in the private sector.

Migrant workers. With regard to migrant workers, the Committee refers to its comment under the Migration for Employment Convention, 1949 (No. 97).

Promoting equality of opportunity and treatment for persons with disabilities. The Committee welcomes the Government's efforts to improve employment opportunities for persons with disabilities through initiatives like the Disability Employment Action Plan ("Working Matters"), which promotes workplace accessibility and equal opportunities. The Government also highlights programmes such as the “Increasing the Employment of Disabled People in the Public Sector” programme. Regarding the Minimum Wage Exemption Permits (which allows paying workers with disabilities below the minimum wage), the Government states that there are continued discussions to create a wage supplement as an alternative, though public consultations showed mixed reactions. Nevertheless, the Government remains committed to removing the exemption process. The Committee observes that the Labour Force Survey data from 2022 shows that the employment rate for persons with disabilities is 42 per cent, compared to 80 per cent for persons without disabilities. It also takes note of the concerns raised by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) about the high unemployment rate of adolescents with disabilities, higher risk of violence and poverty faced by children with disabilities, high number of complaints received by the HRC on the ground of disability, and the significant time taken to resolve complaints related to disability discrimination (CRC/C/NZL/CO/6, 28 February 2023, paragraph 30; and CRPD/C/NZL/CO/2-3, 26 September 2022, paragraphs 7 and 51). The Committee requests the Government to continue providing updates on: (i) the measures taken to improve the employment situation of persons with disabilities, including within the framework of the Disability Employment Action Plan (“Working Matters”); (ii) the progress made on the wage supplement approach, or any other alternative designed to replace the Minimum Wage Exemption Permits; and (iii) the access rates of persons with disabilities to education, training, employment and occupation, disaggregated by sex. Additionally, the Committee reiterates its request for information on the number of disability discrimination cases dealt with by the relevant authorities.

Enforcement. The Government informs the Committee that in 2022, 521 applications for mediation of cases involving discrimination under the Employment Relations Act (ERA) 2000 were received, and that the HRC received 1,099 complaints alleging unlawful discrimination in employment and pre-employment, between 2019 and 2023. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on cases concerning discrimination in employment and occupation dealt with by the labour inspectors, the HRC and any other competent authorities, if possible classified by grounds of discrimination alleged. Please ensure to include information on the outcome of the cases.

Previous comment

The Committee notes the observations provided by Business New Zealand (BusinessNZ), transmitted by the Government.

Article 1 of the Convention. Protection against discrimination in the public service. The Committee notes that the Government indicates in its report that: (1) the review of the Human Resources Manual (HRM) is ongoing, and the Code of Conduct of the Tokelau Public Service may be revised in the near future; (2) between 2019 and May 2023, one complaint was lodged for contravention to the Code of Conduct, resulting in the dismissal of one senior public servant; and (3) in the next two years there will be awareness consultations by the Office of the Tokelau Public Service Commission. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the progress made in the review of the HRM, as well as on any measures taken to raise awareness on the principle of the Convention among public officials. It also asks the Government to continue providing information on the cases brought to the competent authorities for non-compliance with the HRM and the Code of Conduct, including on the nature of the cases and their outcome.

Discrimination based on sex. Maternity protection. Public service. Noting the Government's indication that the HRM review is still ongoing, the Committee trusts that the Government will take the necessary steps to amend sections 7.7(a) and (b) with a view to ensuring that women employed in the public sector for less than one year have the same level of maternity protection as women employed for more than one year, including protection from dismissal.

Articles 2 and 3. Equality of opportunity and treatment between men and women. The Government refers to: (1) the adoption of measures to facilitate access to the New Zealand Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) to non-Tokelau learners; (2) the adoption of the Education and Strategic Plan 2020–2023; and (3) the undertaking of research in cooperation with UNICEF and UNESCO with the objective to prepare a Social Protection Framework that addresses gaps for specific groups, including women. The Government also indicates that governmental efforts have been focusing since 2020 on facing the COVID-19 pandemic, including border management and repatriation. The Committee observes that, although the Education and Strategic Plan 2020–23 does not specifically refer to women, it includes among its strategic goals the improvement of the range of learning opportunities and school pathways (goal 5) and the increase of workforce capability and post-school education and training (goal 6). The Committee also takes note that BusinessNZ highlights, in its observations, that educational opportunities in Tokelau remain limited, due to the country's isolation, small population and lack of resources. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on: (i) any measures taken in the framework of the Education and Strategic Plan 2020–2023 to improve the access of boys and girls to educational opportunities, including in areas where they are traditionally less represented; (ii) the progress in adopting a Social Protection Framework and the measures taken to ensure equality between men and women in the coverage provided in relation to employment; and (iii) any measures taken or foreseen to collect statistical information on the participation of men and women in education, training, employment and occupation, disaggregated by sector and occupational categories.