13-hour clock released to protest the gender pay gap

  • 18/12/2017

A 13-hour clock has been released as a "tongue-in-cheek" protest about the gender pay gap in New Zealand.

It's paired with a diary with an extra month in the year, as part of a publicity campaign from the Public Service Association (PSA) - a union representing public service workers.

PSA national secretary Erin Polaczuk says the "Office Stationary for Working Women Kit" is "a tongue-in-cheek solution to a very serious problem".

"All we need to do to fix pay discrimination in Aotearoa is ensure women have an extra hour a day or an extra month a year," she said.

The kit, with the clock and calendar, has been sent to prominent women across New Zealand.

Ms Polaczuk said the idea of women working these extra hours for free should be upsetting to New Zealanders.

"Women and men should be paid the same for the same number of hours worked, because equal pay is a human right."

Currently, women in New Zealand earn 12 percent less on average than men doing the same job. 

For Māori women, the gender pay gap is 23 percent and for Pasifika women it is 27.9 percent, according to Statistics NZ data.

The PSA says the Government is one of the worst offenders, with some gender pay gaps in the state services being more than 35 percent.

"While we have a supportive Government ready to stand up for women's rights to fair and equal treatment, when it comes to equal pay, we've still got a way to go," Ms Polaczuk said.

Last month, the Council of Trade Unions (CTU) announced that women would be effectively working for free for the rest of the year, because of the gender pay gap.

Māori women had been working for free since October 8, while Pasifika women had worked for free from about the September 21.

Newshub.