Summary
Summary Report of Project conducted by NACEW 2005-2006
In 2005, the National Advisory Council on the Employment of Women (NACEW) identified government contracting as one area where there may be potential for government as a funder to influence improvements in the quality of work for women currently in precarious working situations or low paid work in the homecare, residential and cleaning sectors. Given NACEW's longstanding interest in pay and employment equity, it sought also to consider what action might support this outcome and initiatives that were also present in these sectors.
The purpose of this project was not to explore the existence of these conditions, but rather to examine how the government's contracting/funding processes could be used to improve precarious employment with a view to provide recommendations (attached) to the Minister of Labour by December 2006. The project focused primarily on the homecare, residential care and cleaning sectors, where precarious employment is relatively common.
This project adopted the definition of precarious employment established by previous Department of Labour (DoL) research.[1] It is defined as employment generally at the "lower end" of the non-standard work continuum[2]. The employment is, "...low quality and ...encompasses a range of factors that put workers at risk of injury, illness and/or poverty (from low wages, low job security, limited control over workplace conditions, little protection for health and safety risks in the workplace and less opportunity for training and career progression)."[3]
Overview
NACEW began its research at the beginning of 2005 with the aim of providing advice to the Minister of Labour by the end of 2006. The research has two parts. The first part focuses on the contracting policy currently operating in New Zealand and the second part on international interventions to improve quality work outcomes.
The research on the New Zealand context describes the process of government contracting and whether precarious work or pay and employment equity outcomes for the provider’s employees are considered when contracts are awarded. The international research investigates interventions used overseas that may address precarious work and pay and employment issues and the potential applicability and relevance for the contracting environment in New Zealand.
It is estimated that there are around 40-50,000 support workers in New Zealand and around 18-20,000 of these may work in home based care services with an annual staff turnover in the homecare sector of 39 percent. Currently, home based support services are delivered by independent providers under contract to multiple funders – District Health Boards (DHBs), Ministry of Health and ACC. They number about 110 nationally and are a mixture of not-for-profit and forprofit agencies. Very few DHB’s employ these workers directly. There are only a small number of collective agreements in the sector.
Providers deliver services over a 24 hour seven day period, and vary in size from large national providers (four to five), to small owner-operated local enterprises. The Public Service Association continues to have representation of approximately 3,000 cover home care workers in disability settings who were previously employed in psychopaedic institutions. Overall, union density in the home based sector is low. The home based nature and dispersal of the workforce, very low pay, high turnover, high levels of casual and part time employment as well as insecurity of hours make for difficulties in building union density.
Care workers working in the residential care are employed in a variety of facilities in for-profit and not-for-profit organisations. Union density is higher in this sector and collective bargaining is common. The New Zealand Nurses Organisation and the Service and Food Workers Union (SFWU) provide union representation for care workers in the residential sector, with union density estimated to be around 20 – 30 percent.
In the cleaning sector, the SFWU estimates that there are more than 20,000 commercial cleaners in New Zealand. Private sector organisations contract with government agencies to provide cleaning services. Some only provide cleaning and other larger organisations provide full building or facility management services. Sixty large and medium sized companies belong to the umbrella group, the Building Service Contractors NZ Ltd. All of the large and some of the medium sized companies are parties to a multi-employer collective agreement with the SFWU. Providers believe that about 12-15 percent of workers in the cleaning sector are unionised, however, the union believes it may be as low as 5 percent.
Funding of these services has a direct impact on business profits and pay rates, therefore poor funding of all three services impact directly on pay rates, turnover/ staff retention, recruitment, career opportunities, employment conditions and quality of services delivered.
There is a widely accepted need to improve wages and employment conditions in all three sectors. This will not only result in improved economic and social outcomes but also improved reliability and service quality. A skilled, motivated and committed workforce will result from employment relationships and structures that are founded on the principles of fairness, equal opportunity, access to training, good faith and respect.
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[1] ‘Precarious’ Non-Standard Employment – A Review of the Literature, Deborah Tucker, Labour Market Policy Group, Department of Labour, Wellington, New Zealand, December 2002
[2] The “higher end” being characterised by self-employed and part time workers who are more likely to have a reasonable income, job security and workplace autonomy and the “lower end” by unpredictable, irregular or insufficient hours.
[3] Tucker, op cit p.5
