The pay equity claim for probation officers has gone to
the Employment Relations Authority (ERA), four years after
it was first lodged.
The PSA lodged its claim with the
Department of Corrections in 2021. The PSA later
consolidated its claim with a claim from the National Union
of Public Employees.
“These workers perform some of
the most complex and risky work that public servants
undertake in this country,” said Josephine O’Connor, PSA
Lead Organiser for Corrections. “We are talking about an
overwhelmingly female workforce that supervise 70% of those
managed by Corrections; those on Life Parole, Extended
Supervision, Home Detention, Intensive Supervision and
beyond – the 26,000 people that Corrections has
responsibility for managing in the community.”
The
application to the ERA asks it to decide rates of
remuneration for probation officers that are free from
gender-based discrimination. The ERA has the power to fix
those rates.
This escalation comes after the PSA
provided extensive evidence that probation officers are
significantly underpaid because of gender-based
discrimination.
“Given the rising
pressures on Corrections staff and the Coalition
Government’s explicit desire to increase the prison
population, we’d expect to see a commensurate recognition
of the need to maintain a workforce capable of managing
those being released. On top of those being released from
prison, probation officers support those returned to New
Zealand via the Returned Overseas Offenders legislation,
manage thousands of electronically monitored sentences and
electronic bail, write pre-sentence reports, and undertake
essential interagency work with Police, Justice and Oranga
Tamariki.
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“We are not seeing any such
awareness from Corrections of the need to pay these staff
appropriately; despite their knowledge of the value of the
work performed by these staff. It’s a ticking time bomb as
our members can only wait so long for this situation to be
addressed. Corrections is utterly dependant on this
workforce.”
The PSA represents the almost 1400
probation officers covered by the claim.
“Receiving
equitable pay, would mean that these workers can stay with
Corrections and keep doing the work they care so much about:
keeping communities safe and rehabilitating those who have
offended. Members in these roles should be able to pay the
rent, put food on the table, and enjoy the
self-determination that comes with financial independence
and security. Equitable pay will make it easier for people
who want to serve their communities to choose probation work
as their profession, for Corrections to recruit new staff,
and for people to continue doing this important
work.
“Having this claim resolved would mean
communities can be assured they are safe – at present our
members cannot see themselves remaining with Corrections for
much longer, as they can earn so much more elsewhere – the
implication of Corrections losing this workforce will be
disastrous.
“We need Corrections to wake up before
it’s too late and come to the ERA with a desire to resolve
this claim and pay up in the shortest possible
timeframe.”
