Logie Jan: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeLogie Jan: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 25 March 2015. Volume:704;Page:2580. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]11.JAN LOGIE (Green)to the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety: Does he agree with the previous EEO Commissioner Judy McGregor’s statement on aged care that “The sense of crisis that surrounds aged care is partly a reflection of our collective knowledge that we are not being fair and that a large group of workers is being discriminated against.”?Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE (Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety):I share her wider concerns that workers in lower-paid roles are properly treated and receive fair pay for their important work. Dr McGregor’s comments are from a 2012 report which goes on to refer to pay inequality and in-between travel. I note the Government has acted to resolve the longstanding issue of compensation for in-between travel and that the issue of equal pay is currently being considered by the courts and I am watching that process with interest.Jan Logie: Does the Minister believe that the minimum wage or not much more is appropriate pay for a job mostly done by women that involves caring for the most vulnerable—bathing them helping them to go to the toilet and providing emotional support in the last days of their lives?Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE: In respect of the minimum wage we have one of the highest minimum wages in the OECD in real terms and as a proportion of the median wage but I do share the member’s concern that all workers are appropriately remunerated according to their skills and experience.Barbara Stewart: Does he agree that aged-care workers who are performing comparable medical tasks to that of nurses such as testing blood sugars checking blood pressures and giving out medication are doing so only because they are regarded as the cheaper option?Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE: No I do not. There are very strict guidelines around the appropriate discharging of responsibilities in health care facilities and those aged-care workers clearly have a scope of practice that is significantly reduced from registered nurses and that is appropriate given the safety requirements of those facilities.Jan Logie: Does the Minister find it acceptable that while the estimated earned income for men and women is now equal in several countries in the world the annual median gender pay gap in New Zealand as at the 2013 census was 36.7 percent?Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE: I put those comments in the context of this. From 2001 to 2008 the gender pay gap effectively flat-lined. It has reduced by nearly a quarter since 2008 and I would caution the member to be very careful about statistics produced in international comparisons. I suggest she looks at the health and survival indicators where New Zealand ranks 96th in terms of mortality. Syria is ranked 1st because men and women die at equally young ages. It is very important not to read the statistics on the face of it.Jan Logie: In recognition of Caregivers Week their essential and very skilled work and the absolute importance of gender equality as a human right will the Minister advocate for an increase and ring-fencing of funding to address the exploitation of these women?Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE: As someone who has employed aged-care workers I would join with the member in agreeing that they do a fantastic job for a very important vulnerable section of our community. Pay rates for aged-care workers is the responsibility of providers in district health boards so I have no ministerial responsibility for that but I am advised that despite very tight financial situations the Government has increased district health board funding of aged residential care by 27 percent between 2008-09 and 2013-14. I think that in straitened times that is a very good record.