Decent Work New Zealand
Towards Decent Work - Charting our progress
Objectives 1, 2 & 3: Activities, Strategies and/or Institutional Arrangements Developed to Address each Critical Success Factor
CSF 9: Equal opportunity is expected and delivered.
Activity:
Supporting early return to work following injury
Description:
The Accredited Employer Programme enables employers to maintain injured workers at work, or return them to work early in a safe and supportive environment.
Lead Agency:
Accident Compensation Corporation
Activity:
Equal Employment Opportunities education
Description:
Business NZ provides continuing education for employers on Equal Employment Opportunities.
Lead Agency:
Business New Zealand
Activity:
Ageing Workforce Programme
Description:
Work Directions is developing a new work stream focusing on the ageing population and older workers issues. This work stream has two objectives, firstly to influence thinking and enhance the quality of debate and policy development. The second objective is to focus and consolidate Work Directions, departmental and potentially cross-Government research and analysis activities on older workers.
Lead Agency:
Department of Labour
Activity:
Review of the level of the adult, new entrants and training minimum wages
Description:
The Department of Labour provides advice on the setting of minimum wage levels that best achieves the objectives and criteria agreed by Government for the minimum wage. As a part of this process, the Department analyses submissions made by interested parties on minimum wage rates.
Lead Agency:
Department of Labour
Activity:
Protection of children at work
Description:
The Government is considering the potential ratification of ILO Convention 138 (Minimum Age of Employment). It is also carrying out a work programme to improve knowledge of existing protections for children at work, compliance with children’s employment rights, and detection of exploitation when it does occur.
Lead Agency:
Department of Labour
Activity:
Pay and Employment Equity plan of action for the next five years
Description:
The Government is proceeding to implement the action plan for pay and employment equity in the public service, public health and public education sectors. A dedicated unit has been established in Department of Labour which is developing tools and processes to enable agencies to implement the action plan and a tripartite Steering Group has been established to oversee the work of the unit.
Lead Agency:
Department of Labour
Activity:
Extension of paid parental leave to self-employed parents
Description:
Self-employed parents are now eligible for 14 weeks paid parental leave, bringing greater flexibility and equity to the workplace and additional support for working parents. Both employees and the self-employed are now eligible for a subsequent period of paid parental leave if their expected date of delivery or adoption is at least six months after they return to work from previous leave.
Lead Agency:
Department of Labour
Activity:
Parental leave evaluation project
Description:
A three-stage research project to measure the success of the parental leave scheme.
Lead Agency:
Department of Labour
Activity:
National Advisory Council on the Employment of Women (NACEW)
Description:
NACEW is an advisory body providing advice to the Minister of Labour. NACEW is supported by the Department of Labour through the provision of an Executive Officer and advisory support to assist the development and implementation of their work programme. Currently this is via three subgroups focusing on precarious employment and particularly public contracting, pay and employment equity issues, Maori and Pacific women in enterprise and a joint DOL/NACEW decision-making project on balancing work and caring responsibilities
Lead Agency:
NACEW, Department of Labour
Activity:
Work/Life Balance Project
Description:
The Work/Life Balance project is developing a policy programme to promote a better balance between paid work and life outside of work. A three year work programme is underway which includes a pilot project with workplaces, further policy work on a range of issues, activities to influence change in workplace cultures, and practices and research into work/life balance issues.
Lead Agency:
Department of Labour
Activity:
Work/Life Balance workplace project
Description:
The project identifies and promotes workplace policies and practices that help people to balance participation in paid work with the other activities that are important to them. An advisory group has been established to advise on proposed communications activities and products flowing on from the Workplace Pilots, identify opportunities for awareness raising around work-life balance and identify champions and influencers.
Lead Agency:
Department of Labour
Activity:
Workplace Health and Safety Strategy for New Zealand to 2015
Description:
The Workplace Health and Safety Strategy is a framework for action that sets out a vision, a set of principles, outcomes and an implementation plan for achieving healthy people in safe and productive workplaces. It also aims to reduce the work death toll in New Zealand.
Lead Agency:
Department of Labour
Activity:
Choices for Living, Caring, and Working Plan of Action
Description:
This ten-year plan improves support for children and families by increasing the choices available for parents and carers. This will enable people to have real choices about how they balance their caring responsibilities, involvement in paid work, time for leisure and learning, and time to be involved with friends, family and the community.
Lead Agency:
Department of Labour
Activity:
Providing information for migrants and increasing awareness amongst employers on the benefits of employing migrants
Description:
The Auckland Chamber of Commerce delivers employment assistance and job-seeking services to migrants via presentations and seminars as well as one-on-one employment finding sessions with individuals as required. The Canterbury Migrant Employment Programme, run by the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce, provides a migrant employment recruitment service for skilled migrants to gain employment and opportunities to improve their job search strategy.
Lead Agency:
Chambers of Commerce, Department of Labour
Activity:
Establishing a point of contact for migrants and refugees to access information about services available to them
Description:
The Settlement Support New Zealand initiative has established a national network of migrant resource services to improve access to settlement information and advice for migrants and refugees, and strengthen the responsiveness of local mainstream agencies to their settlement needs. The initiative has been successfully established in 19 local areas throughout New Zealand, with local Settlement Coordinators appointed.
Lead Agency:
Department of Labour
Activity:
Literary, Numeracy and Language Strategy
Description:
The Department of Labour will continue to lead work focussed on changing employer and workplace practices around improving literacy, numeracy and language skills.
Lead Agency:
Department of Labour
Activity:
Recognised Seasonal Employer Scheme
Description:
The Recognised Seasonal Employer Scheme is an immigration policy which facilitates the temporary entry of seasonal workers into New Zealand to fill shortages in New Zealand’s horticulture and viticulture industries when no New Zealanders are available. This scheme encourages Pacific people to return year after year, and build up their skills and productivity.
Lead Agency:
Department of Labour
Activity:
Early Childhood Education
Description:
The Government subsidises early childhood education (ECE) for children aged 0 to 5, and up to 20 hours a week Free ECE for 3 and 4 year olds in teacher-led services, aiming to increase participation in quality ECE services, improve quality of ECE services and promote collaborative relationships.
Lead Agency:
Ministry of Education
Activity:
Compulsory free education for all New Zealand children
Description:
Compulsory free education for all New Zealand children.
Lead Agency:
Ministry of Education
Activity:
Te Tâhuhu Improving Mental Health 2005-2015
Description:
This Strategy aims to value diversity and support and enable people with experience of mental illness and addiction to fully participate in society and in the everyday life of their communities and whanau.
Lead Agency:
Ministry of Health
Activity:
Te Kokiri The Mental Health and Addiction Action Plan 2006 - 2015
Description:
Te Kokiri focuses on implementing Te Tâhuhu Improving Mental Health. It provides the way forward from policy to implementation. Central to this work is enabling people with experience of mental illness and addiction to fully participate in society and in the everyday life of their communities and whanau.
Lead Agency:
Ministry of Health
Activity:
Tauawhitia te Wero -Embracing the Challenge: National mental health and addiction workforce development plan 2006-2009
Description:
This sets out a vision for a mental health and addiction workforce development plan responsive to the needs of people who access services. It is intended to act as an umbrella plan providing national direction on workforce development through to 2009.
Lead Agency:
Ministry of Health
Activity:
Let’s get real: Real skills for people working in mental health and addictions [external link]
Description:
Let’s get real is a project to produce a framework of the essential knowledge, skills and attitudes required to work in mental health and addictions services. Quality improvements underpin this initiative with influences on service delivery; education and training; professional development; and recruitment and retention practices.
Lead Agency:
Ministry of Health
Activity:
National training initiative to boost the numbers of home-based disability support (HBSS) workers who have foundation level training
Description:
This initiative aims to support the implementation of training and assessment for HBSS support workers to complete the National Certificate in Community Support Services, Level One.
Lead Agency:
Ministry of Health
Activity:
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Workforce Development Project
Description:
This initiative aims to implement a training and supervision programme for support workers and professionals (including families) who support children and young people with ASD in Child Youth and Family care.
Lead Agency:
Ministry of Health
Activity:
Environmental Support Services (ESS) for people with disabilities
Description:
ESS are available through Disability Services Directorate-funded ESS providers for provision of equipment and funding for vehicles/vehicle modifications and driving assessments. This support is available to disabled people assessed as eligible and having an essential need to enable them to undertake fulltime employment or vocational training.
Lead Agency:
Ministry of Health
Activity:
Community Day Activity Funding
Description:
Funding is available to support disabled people, especially those with high support needs, to attend vocational activities or community participation activities.
Lead Agency:
Ministry of Health
Activity:
Development of training and qualifications in needs assessment and service co-ordination (NASC) for disabled people
Description:
The Ministry of Health’s Disability Services Directorate works with relevant training organisations to identify NASC-specific competencies that will develop into under-graduate and post-graduate national learning programmes.
Lead Agency:
Ministry of Health
Activity:
Development of training and qualifications in community-based residential services for disabled people
Description:
The Ministry of Health’s Disability Services Directorate works with providers and relevant training organisations to identify support worker-specific competencies that will develop into under graduate and post-graduate national learning programmes.
Lead Agency:
Ministry of Health
Activity:
Pacific Economic Action Plan (PEAP)
Description:
The PEAP provides an overarching response to Pacific peoples’ economic priorities with six key goals: Education, Workforce Development, Business Development, Creative, Emerging & Growth Industries, Entrepreneurial Culture and Leadership. This plan identifies milestones to assist government - develop policies and initiatives to enhance Pacific peoples’ contribution to the New Zealand economy. Each goal outlines objectives that will address gaps in current government responses and areas of need.
Lead Agency:
Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs
Activity:
Pacific Women’s Economic Development Plan (PWEDP)
Description:
The PWEDP is a specific economic development action plan for Pacific women. It identifies specific milestones that further contribute to four of the PEAP goals: Education, Workforce Development, Business Development and Leadership.
Lead Agency:
Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs
Activity:
Taskforce Green Subsidy [external link]
Description:
Allows the client to participate in community or environmental based project work to develop work habits and general on the job skills.
Lead Agency:
Ministry of Social Development
Activity:
Working for Families [external link]
Description:
Working for Families is a package designed to help make it easier to work and raise a family. It pays extra money to many thousands of New Zealand families. Working for Families is made up of three key components: tax credits administered by Inland Revenue and Accommodation Supplement and Childcare Assistance which are administered by Work and Income.
Lead Agency:
Ministry of Social Development
Activity:
Mayors’ Taskforce for Jobs [external link]
Description:
This initiative provides funding through MSD for collaborative initiatives between central and local government for projects that have training, education and work outcomes targeted for youth.
Lead Agency:
Ministry of Social Development
Activity:
Innovative Employment Assistance (IEA)
Description:
IEA programmes trial new strategies to help Sickness and Invalids’ Beneficiaries into work.
Lead Agency:
Ministry of Social Development
Activity:
Supported employment for people with disabilities
Description:
The provision of supported employment is part of Ministry of Social Development’s ongoing services for people with ill-health or disability seeking to re-enter the workforce. This service is offered by a range of providers throughout the country.
Lead Agency:
Ministry of Social Development
Activity:
Skills Investment Subsidy
Description:
Skills Investment is a subsidy that invests in disadvantaged job seekers by making a temporary contribution to their wages and training to enable them to access and maintain employment.
Lead Agency:
Ministry of Social Development
Activity:
Training Incentive Allowance
Description:
Training Incentive Allowance provides non-taxable assistance to clients receiving certain types of benefits to undertake employment related training that will improve their skills and increase their chances of getting work.
Lead Agency:
Ministry of Social Development
Activity:
Action Plan for New Zealand Women
Description:
This Action Plan for New Zealand Women is a whole of government approach to improving the position of New Zealand women. Work under the Action Plan is focussed on three themes: economic independence, work-life balance and wellbeing.
Lead Agency:
Ministry of Women’s Affairs
Activity:
Nominations Service
Description:
The Nominations Service actively develops a database of potential governance nominees of women who are available for selection as possible candidates for the wide range of governance roles required by government boards and committees. The Nominations Service also supports the achievement of a greater gender balance in decision-making in statutory bodies across the public sector.
Lead Agency:
Ministry of Women’s Affairs
Activity:
Research into occupational segregation
Description:
The Ministry of Women’s Affairs is undertaking several research projects on occupational segregation (the tendency for men and women to do different types of jobs, and for some jobs to be dominated by men or women). The purpose of these projects is to establish if there are links between occupational segregation, labour market responsiveness and productivity; and the extent to which gender affects young people’s decision-making about careers in gender-segregated occupations.
Lead Agency:
Ministry of Women’s Affairs
Activity:
Increase union density and the extent of collective bargaining in the aged care and disability sectors in order to improve wages
Description:
The NZCTU works with the Service and Food Workers Union (SFWU) and the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) to improve wages and employment conditions in the aged care sector through collective agreements. The unions are jointly co-ordinating the Fair Share for Aged Care campaign. The NZCTU also works with the Public Service Association (PSA) and the SFWU in their campaign to improve wages and conditions for disability sector care workers through a focus on increasing coverage of collective agreements.
Lead Agency:
New Zealand Council of Trade Unions
Activity:
Calling for extension of paid parental leave and family-friendly policies
Description:
The NZCTU monitors the provision, and advocates for extended application, of paid parental leave and breast feeding breaks so that New Zealand can comply with ILO Convention 183 – Maternity Protection, 2000.
Lead Agency:
New Zealand Council of Trade Unions
Activity:
Campaigning for and providing training on pay and employment equity
Description:
NZCTU-affiliated unions participate in and lead training around pay equity reviews and pay investigations in the core public sector, public health and education sectors. A focus on pay and employment equity in the local government sector has just commenced as part of Phase 2 of the Pay and Employment Equity Plan of Action. The NZCTU also comments on gender pay gaps, makes submissions on gender equity and reviews trends in the gender pay gap.
Lead Agency:
New Zealand Council of Trade Unions
Activity:
Memorandum of understanding with the Mayors’ Taskforce for Jobs
Description:
The NZCTU has a memorandum of understanding with the Mayors’ Taskforce for Jobs outlining the basis for co-operation to promote training and employment opportunities for young people.
Lead Agency:
New Zealand Council of Trade Unions
Activity:
Campaigning to improve conditions of work for mothers
Description:
Through advocacy and awareness-raising, the NZCTU is campaigning for improvements to conditions of work for mothers, such as breastfeeding breaks, via legislation and through collective agreements. The NZCTU also trains union delegates to help them raise these issues with employers.
Lead Agency:
New Zealand Council of Trade Unions
Activity:
Older workers
Description:
The NZCTU liaises with the Retirement Commission, Human Rights Commission and other government agencies and non-government agencies on issues affecting older workers including part-time work options, retirement income and access to the health system.
Lead Agency:
New Zealand Council of Trade Unions
Activity:
Union participation in the governance of tertiary education institutions and industry training organisations
Description:
The NZCTU nominates union representatives to the councils of most tertiary education institutions and to most of the boards of industry training organisations. There is also a NZCTU nominee on the board of the Industry Training Federation. The purpose of this representation is to ensure that training providers are in touch with workers’ needs and that the diversity of potential trainees is reflected.
Lead Agency:
New Zealand Council of Trade Unions
Activity:
Supporting decent work for disabled people
Description:
The CTU is working with the Department of Labour to ensure the successful removal of minimum wage exemptions for disabled people working in business enterprises and is coordinating with disabled persons groups on the implementation of this new regime.
Lead Agency:
New Zealand Council of Trade Unions
Activity:
Foundation learning programmes for adults
Description:
In November 2007 Cabinet agreed to initiate an “upskilling the workforce” strategy [external link] that builds on the adult literacy strategy, focussed on literacy, language and numeracy skills for New Zealand workplaces. This strategy aims to build the amount of literacy, language and numeracy provisions being undertaken, and enhance the capability of both tertiary education organisations and industry to build the skills of the workforce.
Lead Agency:
Tertiary Education Commission
Activity:
Training for unemployed people over 18 with low qualifications
Description:
Training Opportunities [external link] offers unemployed people over 18 with low qualifications the chance to gain valuable skills that will help them to find a job.
Lead Agency:
Tertiary Education Commission
Activity:
Training for young people under 18 with low qualifications
Description:
Youth Training [external link] offers young people under 18 with low qualifications the chance to gain valuable skills that will help them to get a job.
Lead Agency:
Tertiary Education Commission
Activity:
Vocational training for young Maori and Pacific people
Description:
Skill Enhancement offers vocational training for young Maori (Rangatahi Maia [external link]) and Pacific (Tupulaga Le Lumana'i [external link]) people. The combination of programmes approved offers a variety in terms of delivery style, learning environment, occupations, industries and locations. In 2006, more than 82% of trainees moved onto further education or employment within two months of exiting the programme. Whereas Nga Kaiarataki Pathfinders aims to help school leavers who are disadvantaged by rural isolation or by issues associated with low socioeconomic background to continue their education.
Lead Agency:
Tertiary Education Commission
Activity:
Advocacy and raising awareness on quality flexible work
Description:
The NZCTU conducts research, advocacy and awareness-raising on the issue of quality flexible work. Following the passing of legislation providing the right to request flexible work for those with caring responsibilities, the CTU will monitor its implementation and promote the extension of this right to all workers.
Lead Agency:
New Zealand Council of Trade Unions