National Conversation highlights both differences and similarities

Here’s a riddle...what is broadly similar, but different too? Answer: the findings from the first two National Conversations, in the Wellington and West Coast regions.

The HRC team went out to meet with a broad range of groups in the Wellington and West Coast areas with open minds and broad questions to ask: what would make a difference to employers and employees in terms of increasing fairness at work?  

“The two regions we visited first could hardly have been more different in makeup”, says HRC’s Senior Policy Adviser Sue O’Shea. “Wellington is dominated by the public service, has a higher female workforce and lower unemployment than most of the country, while the West Coast has an older, smaller population, spread over a large area, and with mining, agriculture and tourism as its three major industries.”    Despite the differences, the issues people identified were remarkably similar, she says.

Pay equity, hours of work, flexible work hours, childcare, and pay were issues raised as barriers to fairness at work in both Wellington and the West Coast, but the way people experience them was very different in each area.

On the West Coast, for example, long working hours were driven by the demands of shift work, the difficulties of transport to and from work and the long distances people need to travel while in Wellington, problems with long hours tended to be the result of heavy workload and expectations. Childcare issues on the West Coast were linked to the population being widely spread, making childcare centres unviable in many centres, and not able to cater to working parents’ needs. In Wellington, it is more often the cost of the childcare that is the problem.

“It’s too early for any conclusions from the conversations, because we have many more to come, but we’re delighted with the openness we’ve found, and people’s desire across the board to talk to us freely”, says Sue O’Shea.   “People in both Wellington and the West Coast have realistic expectations – they know why there are often tensions between family and relationships and work, and that companies have to make a profit. But they are keen to make sure that all aspects of life are taken into account at work, so it’s fairer and better for everyone.”

The National Conversation continues on the road – watch this space.