Our communities are stronger when there are people we can turn to who have the skills to thread us together, and support our families through tough times.
But community social workers have been undervalued for far too long because their work has mostly been done by women. Pay and conditions haven’t reflected the skill, difficulty, and responsibility of their jobs. As a result, many social workers have struggled to keep up with the cost of living and stay in jobs they’re passionate about that serve their communities.
That’s why we’re celebrating the Government approving funding to extend the social workers pay equity settlement to social workers in community and iwi organisations.
This is the result of workers joining together as a collective and combining their power as a union to win a fairer, more just deal. We’re celebrating every single social worker who made this happen by joining their union, lobbying decision-makers, organising their workplaces, and more.
What you need to know:
- The Government approved funding to make sure social workers in iwi and community organisations get the benefits of the original pay equity settlement of social workers at five NGOs that represented the wider sector.
- More than 5,000 people are covered by the settlement. On average these social workers will receive a 27% correction to their pay. This is huge, life-changing news for many whānau.
- Pay equity is also about fair terms and conditions. People covered by the extension will receive better access to support for their work – like registration fees, supervision, cultural supervision, and professional development.
- The Government agreed to the extension in November 2022. Since then, the PSA has been working hard to make sure workers are covered and receive all the benefits of the settlement.
This settlement and its extension happened because workers are stronger when we act together. Change is possible when we join the union and take collective action to determine our own futures. Learn more about how we got here at the end of this page – from organising for and winning a pay equity settlement for five representative non-government organisations, to negotiating successfully for the extension, to securing this decision to resource it.
Related documents
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NGO Social Work Pay Equity Clauses for Employment Agreements Adobe Acrobat PDF file | 138 KB
Your key questions answered:
Social workers employed in community and iwi organisations that receive funding from the Government. This includes registered or registerable social workers, registered professionals undertaking social work, professionals undertaking work that is the same or substantially similar to social work, and registered social workers leading social work practice. Employers needed to apply to be covered. Check out this chart for more detail.
If you’re a union member, contact your union. You may also reach out to your manager to ask if your organisation has been part of this process.
Your pay will be corrected to a new rate that honours the skill, difficulty, and responsibility of the work you do. There will be a new stepped pay scale that’s designed to better reflect the value of your work as you progress in your career. You’ll also receive better access to professional support – like professional development, cultural supervision, and professional membership fees.
Your step within your grade will be based on your relevant experience with your category of work. Your employer will determine where in the grades and steps you are placed. We encourage you to join a PSA webinar – whether you are a union member or not – to make sure you’re placed on the right step.
It might take a while for the funders – like Oranga Tamariki and Te Whatu Ora - to get the resources to the community and iwi services. We don’t know exactly when it will come through, but you can contact your employer to ask. The new rates are effective from 1 July 2023 which means you’ll be backpaid to that date.
The PSA will support you through any changes to your collective agreement as we normally do. If you’re on an Individual Employment Agreement (IEA), get in touch with us to discuss.
If you’re a social worker whose role is funded by philanthropic or private sources, if your employer didn’t participate in this process, or if you work in community or iwi service in a non-social work role - you won’t be covered.
The best thing you can do is join the PSA. Right now we’re working on a pay equity claim for all other undervalued roles in social services that have historically been done by women including administration, facilities, professional and technical workers, and frontline practitioners. Workers won this extension, and we know we can win a social services settlement too – but only if we act together.
This is the first time the extension process has ever been used. We want to hear from you about how it works, how it doesn’t, and how we could work together to improve it. The PSA will keep pushing for a better working life for community service workers throughout this extension and beyond it. Get in touch and let us know what you think.
Three big reasons we’re excited the funding for the extension was approved
- Pay equity is about righting the injustice of work that has been done mostly by women – like social work – being paid less than similar work that’s mostly been done by men. Resourcing the extension for these workers is another step toward a fairer future where everyone’s labour is recognised for what it’s worth.
- The undervalued salaries for social workers are difficult to live on – especially considering the cost of living. This pay correction will enable thousands of workers – most of whom are women – 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 social work as their profession, for the sector to recruit new staff, and for people to continue doing this important work.
How this came about
In 2019, PSA members at social service providers Barnardos, Wellington Sexual Abuse HELP Foundation, Christchurch Methodist Mission, Stand for Children, and Ngāpuhi Iwi Social Services filed a pay equity claim. After years of dedicated organising, those members won a settlement in late 2022 that recognised the historic gender-based undervaluation of their work.
Soon after, the PSA started work advocating for an extension to that settlement. The settlement process had systematically proven social workers were being underpaid. Our members knew the only fair and just response was to make sure community and iwi social workers at other workplaces would receive an equivalent correction.
In November 2022, Ministers Sepuloni and Tinetti announced the settlement would be extended. In June of 2023, Cabinet has approved the funding to make it happen.