Union claims Roundtable plot to ‘kill’ pay equity

Press, 18 February 1989, Page 9

Union claims Roundtable plot to ‘kill’ pay equity

By

GLEN PERKINSON

The Business Roundtable is plotting to ensure Government recommodations for equal pay for women are “killed,” the Canterbury Clerical Workers’ Union claims.

The union last evening alleged that the Round-

table’s influence was being used to force lowwage settlements in women-dominated areas. The big-business group had targeted clerical workers, one of the biggest women-worker groups, as the award to set a precedent for low wages. The push would fail, said the union’s secretary, Mr Leon Morel. Award negotiations, in limbo at present, would break down if the Roundtable continued to use force to push for a cheap settlement. That could see clerical workers on strike again. But this would be over a moral rather than an industrial issue, Mr Morel said. Clerical workers went on strike late last month and again this month over the Employers’ Association demanding changes to casual-work restriction. The union is concerned

employers would use any relaxation to “casualise” the industry. The general clerical workers’ award covers about 25,000 workers throughout New Zealand, with about 7000 of those in Christchurch and Canterbury. The Roundtable’s spokesman, Mr Roger Kerr, last evening called Mr Morel’s allegations “nonsense and without basis.” He added that the Roundtable played no part in award strategy — that was an Employers’ Association role. However, he said the Roundtable’s view of equal pay for equal work was that it was “an unsound approach to the problems of women’s employment problems.” Mr Morel said the Employers’ Association was following Business Roundtable’s policies and the Roundtable was adopting a role as agitator and

destructor of industrial relations. “What we need, though, is sanity and co-opera-tion,” he said. He said that the Roundtable’s influence would “drag this award round out to unprece-

dented lengths.” Mr Morel backed his claims that the Roundtable was trying to sabotage pay equity, saying most non-Roundtable employers had removed observers from the clerical award talks. Of the four companies left, Fletcher Challenge and L. D. Nathans were left to “heavy” employers into adopting a Roundtable stance. “The Roundtable has given a major indication that women are to be suppressed even more and is using this award to send that message. “It’s intolerable and unjustifiable,” he said. “White, middle-aged males are trying to deal with women unfairly.” Mr Morel said smaller clerical awards not involving the Roundtable were settling quickly, without animosity. Yesterday Christchurch City Council clerical

workers gained a 4 per cent wage round — the union’s demand. Other smaller awards had settled similarly and with improvements to workers’ conditions. Although employers and the Clerical Workers’ Association, the grouping of the country’s clerical workers’ unions, have imposed a news media blackout on present award movements, “The Press” understands employers are discussing an initiative from Labour Department senior mediator, Mr Brian Gray. That initiative involves slightly relaxing present casual work restrictions, settling wages at 4 per cent and instituting a working party to work out the casual work clause fully during 1989. However, employers have twice before rejected similar proposals from Mr Gray.