Browsing by Author "Miles, Grace Catherine"

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Open Access
From equality to equity: The pursuit of pay equity under the Equal Pay Act 1972
(Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, 2015) Miles, Grace Catherine
In 2014, the Court of Appeal considered if pay equity was also protected under the Act. In this paper I analyse and critique that decision. It seeks to answer two fundamental questions about the case and wider issues surrounding pay equity. First, it asks whether a mandate does exist under the Act requiring the provision of pay equity. Is the Act restricted to a narrow pay equality interpretation, or is it wide enough to encapsulate pay equity? The conclusion will be reached that little light is shed on the position of pay equity from an interpretation of the statute. Both the inclusion and exclusion of pay equity remain open interpretations. A realist explanation will argue a policy decision, in the absence of an interpretative answer, is driving factor of the Court of Appeal’s findings. The second question looks to the natural continuation of the current case and asks what should be the avenue through which pay equity is pursued. This is a normative inquiry. Litigation will be considered under both a traditional and strategic approach. The alternate solutions of a legislative and an unregulated market will also be investigates. It will be argued that judicial inclusion of pay equity under the Equal Pay Act is undesirable. Instead, dedicated legislation would prove the most effective means of achieving pay equity.
Open Access
The Regime Complex for Human Trafficking
(Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, 2016) Miles, Grace Catherine
Today more people are deprived of their freedom through enslavement than at any other time in human history. Human trafficking is a significant contributor to this statistic. 27 million people are thought to currently be victims of human trafficking. The two main purposes for human trafficking are sexual exploitation and forced labour. Sexual exploitation accounts for 79% of detected instances of trafficking, while forced labour makes up 18%. Human trafficking makes an estimated $150.2 billion USD for organised criminal networks each year. This highly profitable enterprise holds little risk for its participants. Conviction rates remain low with less than 0.5% of all victims able to participate in any kind of judicial process. Human trafficking is a global problem. Almost every country is connected to the practice either as a place of origin, transit or destination. Despite the scale of the problem, human trafficking was not prioritised by the global community for many years. However, increased reporting in the 1990s saw attentions shift and the profile of human trafficking rose significantly. Human trafficking became a hot-button issue for both governments and civil society. Laws were promulgated, institutions developed and organisations formed. A global solution to the global problem was sought. There stands today a wide range of actors engaged in the task of ending the practice of human trafficking.