Pay & Employment Equity
The PEE Plan of Action
Following the recommendations of the Report of the Taskforce on: Pay and Employment Equity in the Public Service and the Public Health and Public Education Sectors, the Government has developed a five–year Plan of Action. The aim of the Plan is to ensure that:
- remuneration is free of gender bias
- barriers to employment equity for women are removed.
Phase One of the Plan
The first phase began with an overarching government commitment to delivering on the Plan, and the establishment of the Pay and Employment Equity Unit to lead implementation of the Plan in the Public Service and the public health and public education sectors. Phase One work includes:
- developing a pay and employment equity review tool
- training and advising on the review process and the review tool
- supporting agencies to implement pay and employment equity reviews in the three sectors
- setting up processes for undertaking pay investigations and managing remedial pay settlements
- developing a Gender Inclusive Job Evaluation Standard and a Service Sector Skills Identification project
- supporting development of pay and employment equity capacity and capability through the management of a Contestable Fund.
Phases Two and Three
Options for extending the Plan of Action into two further phases to cover crown entities, state–owned enterprises and government–funded contract workers will be considered by Cabinet during 2006. Addressing pay and employment equity for other employees (including in local government and the private sector) will be considered subsequently.
Funding remedial pay settlements
The Government has made a commitment to addressing pay inequities in female–dominated occupational groups. Following its approval of the phased roll–out of pay and employment equity reviews, decisions were made by Cabinet in December 2005 on how remedial pay settlements arising from those reviews and from pay investigations will be managed. Additional funding for remedial pay settlements will be considered within existing budget processes, advised by a tripartite forum. Claims need to be supported by a business case establishing:
- clear evidence (preferably based on a rigorous pay investigation) that there is pay inequity
- whether organisations can fund the claim through re–prioritisation
- how relativities–based claims will be managed.
Related to this work are the Gender Inclusive Job Evaluation Standard and the Service Sector Skills Identification project.
Accountability structure for the Pay and Employment Equity Plan of Action
The Minister of Labour has overall responsibility for the Plan of Action, with oversight provided by the Cabinet Social Development Committee. The Secretary of Labour reports to the Minister on progress.
Accountability for promoting, implementing and monitoring pay and employment equity in the Public Service, the public health sector and the public education sector lies with chief executives and sector leaders. They are required to report regularly to Ministers on progress in their implementation of the Plan of Action.
A tripartite Steering Group, consisting of an independent chair, the EEO Commissioner, and representatives of Public Service, education and health sector employers and unions leads the ongoing development of the Plan of Action, monitoring its implementation. The Steering Group also guides the work of the Pay and Employment Equity Unit. It produces a regular newsletter, as well as an annual report.
The Pay and Employment Equity Unit is responsible for implementation and monitoring of the Plan of Action and reporting to the Secretary of Labour on progress.