Dark day for women as Government slams brakes on pay equity to save money
Written By:
- Date published:
12:18 pm, May 6th, 2025 - 44 comments
Categories: coalition of chaos -
Tags: pay equity, psa
Source: PSA
The Government’s proposed changes to the Equal Pay Act will severely limit people in female-dominated professions to be paid fairly, said the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi (PSA).
“The new legislation announced today throws away all the work that has been done to date solely to save the Government money,” Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi National Secretary Fleur Fitzsimons says.
“Women across the country will pay the price for this.
“The Government’s changes today are a dark day for New Zealand women as the Government says it will repeal the pay equity law and extinguish 33 existing claims in a constitutional overreach.
“The PSA is exploring all possible avenues to oppose these unconstitutional amendments and stop this attack on women. We will not be deterred in our fight to achieve pay equity for all.
“The Government is taking money out of the pockets of women. It’s denying justice, it’s denying hard work and dignity to women who for years have been underpaid by reinventing the process on specious grounds to save money.
“This is a complete back-down from any attempt to eliminate pay discrimination in this country,” said Fitzsimons. “The Government is telling us who it thinks is disposable: women – especially women who also face pay discrimination based on their ethnicity.”
The PSA is involved in 15 pay equity claims. This includes 65,000 care and support workers, who have lost about $18,600 each due to pay discrimination while they have waited for the Government to fund their claim.
“It is now Government policy to keep sexist pay discrimination entrenched in the fabric of this country. It talks a big game about how we all need to ‘tighten our belts’, but it is women who will bear the brunt because of this decision.
“For workers with claims, pay equity would mean they could put money aside and save for emergencies, holidays, or retirement. They wouldn’t have to stress about essentials like dental check-ups and GP visits.
“The Government is snatching this justice from these women and using it to line landlords’ pockets. It spits on this country’s supposedly proud history of advancing equal rights.”
ENDS
ENDS
The Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi is Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest trade union, representing and supporting more than 95,000 workers across central government, state-owned enterprises, local councils, health boards and community groups.
For more information contact:
Mike Jaspers | Communications, PSA
Email: mike@capitalnz.com Mobile: +64 (0)27 677 8875
The PSA, the Council of Trade Unions and representatives of other unions will be protesting the Government’s attack on women and the destruction of progress on pay equity at Parliament at 1pm.
What: Union rally at Parliament on pay equity
When: 1pm Today 2025-05-06
Where: Parliament
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I strongly support this rally and the campaign.
The current government shows it undervalues both women's work, and the care and support work that is important to a society's well-being and economy.
From Economic Empowerment Section UN Women, New York, June 2022:
A TOOLKIT ON PAID AND UNPAID CARE WORK: FROM 3Rs TO 5Rs
https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2022-06/A-toolkit-on-paid-and-unpaid-care-work-en.pdf
The toolkit says that this is important for
Truly unbelievable that Brooke Van Velden should allow her robot-like following of the government's decision to halt all pay-equity appeals. I can't believe that a woman unless being bullied i.e. in fear could stoop so low.
"I can't believe that a woman unless being bullied i.e. in fear could stoop so low."
Ruth Richardson.
Paula Bennett.
Jenny Shipley.
Margaret Thatcher.
To gsays @2.1: Granted gsays! I should have qualified my comment by inserting "Nowadays".
Thank you for emphasising the eternal fact of women’s denigration in fiscal matters.
I acknowledge yr wider point about halting pay equity and it impacting on women.
It's an ideology that binds the right, the worship of the dollar, irrespective of the sex.
That's something the left lacks, a common ideology.
This is a time for us to unite, not to look to splinter.
Some leftists would say the left begins with opposition to capitalism.
It is very easy to demonstrate how it hurts us and our planet. The solution is, as you say, to unite, together, to demand a better system.
For the many, not the moneyed!
I've been thinking about yr comment regards the Left starting with opposing capitalism.
I don't have any argument with that but wondering what that looks like nowadays.
Personally there are quite a few things that shouldn't have profit attached to them.
Housing, gas, electricity and internet for starters.
I suppose that is where the bigger state comes in…
It doesn't have to be a bigger state, we look out for each other, the state defends and enforces capitalism at the moment. What is important is that all those who oppose capitalism unify to undermine, destroy and replace it, and this can look a variety of different ways and that's okay.
One of the challenges for the left is to present ideas and pathways that are attractive to more than us hardcore lot. Those four things are concrete needs and expenses that many people can get their head around easily (I assume by gas you mean petrol?).
Most people find the idea of ending capitalism, or even neoliberalism, alarming, because there are few narratives about what would come next. If people don't have much experience of other ways of being in the world, they will take the devil they know.
The problem we have is that in places like TS, people would rather argue about NACTF, or Palestine, or the US shitshow or gender, than talk about what we can do differently, with some notable exceptions 😉 This is understandable, and it’s not like those aren’t pressing problems that need discussion, but we are in a cul de sac, waiting for the next election and crossing our fingers that Labour will get to form some kind of government.
I'm very pleased to see the protests tomorrow over the pay equity bullshit, and hope there is a good turn out. We need movement building, and that's one good way to do it.
… All afforded high Honours by the Establishment that put them in places where they could do what they did.
There'll be a gong somewhere down the line for Brooke, one imagines.
Damn stupid policy.
I guess that is how Nicola Willis is to find her missing billion+ dollars in her budget. By resetting all of the pay equity claims back to the start using retrospective legislation .
So she no longer has to budget in the next couple of years for possible claims.
The unions should put the claims back into play by immediately sending them to the Employment Relations Authority. They may have to put in front of the employers first. But give them a short deadline of a few months to start bargaining. Allow no delay.
The unions should also lodge a civil suit against the government for their legal costs to date for the existing claims, having a party to the existing claims (most of the claims are with government operated or owned organisations) retrospectively changing the laws to suit their budget is pretty gross in any legal sense.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360605837/live-politics-blog
Labour should consider this when they extend the bright-line test back to longer than 2 years – that it go back to 2018 when the 5 year bright-line test term was set.
The later moved to 10 years, but Treasury has recommended 20 years as best.
No Right Turn puts it well.
"So, they're explicitly going to balance the government's books and pay for landlord tax cuts and new war toys by paying women less. Sexist fuckers."
https://norightturn.blogspot.com/2025/05/national-supports-sexism.html
That pretty much sums it up. What the hell happened in these politicians lives to turn them into vindictive, nasty people- or are we just being "governed" by a bunch of psychopaths? RW female politicians seem to be the worst.
The ruling class always look out for each other no matter their identity, it is time we working class realised that we need class consciousness and solidarity to match them.
Careful, the term "tax cut" is clearly triggering for some landlords, because while they are paying considerably less tax under National, their tax rate hasn't changed. Tax break is better.
Sadly it is yet another "saving" foisted on the struggling as a direct result of National's poor financial management.
I'm still waiting g for this "Getting NZ Back on Track" thing to actually happen.
It has happened, for our self-serving CoC and their moneyed backers – more to come.
Tax reduction perhaps.
“The PSA is exploring all possible avenues to oppose these unconstitutional amendments and stop this attack on women"
I look forward to them calling a multi sector strike.
They can't put all of us in jail.
Tory women have no solidarity with women outside their class.
This just confirms that the coalition represents class (landlord and across generation home ownership) rule.
It reminds one of the GOP – they continued with a huge tax cut for wealthy (from Trump's first term) but halved the child tax credit from $2000 to $1000pa.
Here this approach on pay equity (and the end of the FPA) and a risible increase in the MW and landlord rules in tenancy arrangements.
These people also did this.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/541821/disability-funding-changes-resulting-in-untold-distress-to-vulnerable-people-reports
These people also did this
MSD Work and Income front-line staff are unable to cope with their part in the more intensive management of Job Seekers (and increased number), so a programme to prevent homelessness is no longer provided.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/559219/part-of-msd-programme-to-prevent-people-ending-up-in-emergency-housing-scrapped
This follows reducing access to emergency housing last year.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/524658/ministry-of-social-development-to-introduce-new-rules-for-cutting-emergency-housing-numbers
The comparitor changes look, on what I have seen, look to be lacking an understanding of the historical roots of pay inequity, the inequity stretches back 60 plus years when men were the bread winners and paid sufficient to keep a wife and 2-3 kids. Women were to be housewives by their mid 20s. We had awards with wage relativities and wage orders that reflected so.
The way the changes arw being put through under urgency is shameful. Mid to late 1990s after primary teachers got pay parity kindergarten teachers were next up to negotiate. Then national government passed a law under urgency to remove the teachers from state sector and deny them pay parity. Today smacks of similar.
Incredible that the coalition can pretend to protect women by disinfecting toilets, domestic violence centres and sport of transgenders but at the same time steal $10B over four years from hundreds of thousands of women working in care, cleaning and teaching jobs.
I heard the first bit of van Vampire's soft ball interview with Heather Duplicity-Allen. The stared off by saying "I'd" been concerned about the existing legislation when we know it's nothing to do with her, she just being told what to do by wealthy white men.
Then she claimed "my cabinet" (yes, she said this) were also concerned.
Not sure "her cabinet" have digested what happened this week in Australia. When politicians attack the CEOs of the house, women, working mothers, heads of family they get sent into oblivion.
Lies and damn lies.
David Seymour
Both men are lying.
One larger than the other.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/560101/pay-equity-legislation-could-save-billions-for-government-pm
The prime purpose is to make unions re-submit claims – delay any pay increases.
The secondary purpose is to reduce the liability and or extent of liability to a claim.
The impact of all this falls on women.
This might explain why. Women instinctively know who the threats to them are.
A majority of women opposed the election of this coalition.
And its re-election, even before this announcement.
It’s who the capitalist patriarchy are …Duttonesque.
https://www.roymorgan.com/findings/9903-nz-national-voting-intention-april-2025
Ruth and the Mother of All budgets and the harm to solo mothers in 1991.
Bolger had to be rid of Richardson within 3 years, saying they had to cut benefits for the poor because of the budget and then ending the estate tax looked what it was, class war.
The maths is simple, if $Billions are to be saved, they are being saved from the pockets of working women.
These crooks pulled a similar sleight of hand in changing 'fees free' from the first year of tertiary education to the last year (whatever that means):
2025 year – zero liability to Willis
2026 year – zero liability to Willis
2027 year – only then does the 2025 bachelor intake get to claim their 'fees free' year.
They always lie.
/
Richard Hills
@richardhills.bsky.social
Excerpts from Nicola Willis & Erica Stanford’s third reading speeches in FAVOUR of the landmark Equal Pay Amendment Bill.
The government should be ashamed of this surprise attack on women under urgency in their fight for equal pay.
Link to speeches here: https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/hansard-debates/rhr/combined/HansDeb_20200722_20200723_82
[deleted]
https://bsky.app/profile/richardhills.bsky.social/post/3loi5nl4xus27
I deleted the screen shots. We prefer people's own explanations, selected quotes and links. One of the problems here is too much scrolling esp for people on phones. Instead you could quote Hills's introduction and then people can click through for the longer details.
They always lie is my explanation.
Will no one think of the thumbs! Poor dears.
/
you do you Joe, but it's not a free for all on TS. Generally your comments here are good, they bring a range of topics pertinent on the day. Why it's so hard for commenters to work within some conventions of commenting on TS is beyond me.
The Minister is NZ’s Thatcher–minus the charm…Van Velden, women’s pay snatcher.
Trashing Pay Equity in 24 hours with no public consultation shows this vandalistic CoC’s allegiance to the parasite class. As others have pointed out, military hardware is being funded, while they kneecap years of work in advancing women's working lives. Women were 50.33% of the population in 2023, and hopefully they will return the favour at the next election to this bunch of arseholes.
Direct action needs to be taken by women, and their supporters, across the country.
Don't forget removing the requirement for a living wage from Government contracts. Also.
The Women's Party has the opportunity to do a Teal rebellion, if they broaden their approach to full solidarity, as per economic policy.
It's on their list o priorities
And they have a policy on pay equity.
https://youtu.be/XAL-aCNawUo?si=XUEu14b0_zSjezm3
National's pirated campaign song for 2026…
https://youtu.be/RclaV_3_eOA?si=7dPj8gBCoaGgVt7c
Another thing to think about ..
Problems created by men can be resolved by men… At their choosing.
One of the first responses from Julie Anne Genter was to refer to Kristine Bartlett being awarded NZer of the Year for her efforts towards pay equity.
Has Judith Collins issued a s 7 NZRORA report yet? Very hard to see how this could be "justified in a free and democratic society".
On the bright side, this may have the potential to seal National and ACT's fate at the next election.
It occurred to me over luncheon, while the waitress brought my hors d'ourves…
The coalition could save an awful lot more money on the cost of running elections if it took the vote from women, too.
Just listening to the committee stage of the Equity Amendment Act – it occurred to me that the opposition has been rather smart about tarring the coalition with the odour of denying women equity.
They've put up amendments supporting the 33 or so negotiations currently being conducted. The coalition has voted against each one – so they can be seen as actively working against equal pay for women.
A good tactic.
The opposition also seems to be deliberately slow in responding to the party votes.
Stalling for time?
Kiwiblog has a post up about the social media age legislation as soon as and yet nothing about pay equity.
https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2025/05/national_proposes_social_media_ban_for_under_16s.html
A clear message that this is supposed to be an issue to distract the attention of well to do middle class women, while they use lower pay to women to get them out of their budget hole.
Experts do a number on the proposed bill.
The so many reasons the legislation is not fit for purpose.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360681091/doomed-fail-and-laughable-tech-commentators-u-16-social-media-ban
This does not concern the government, the bill is after all the distraction to middle class mothers.
This confirms that it is all about money.
https://www.1news.co.nz/2025/05/08/national-briefed-its-mps-two-days-prior-to-pay-equity-announcement/
A focus is government funded organisations. They did like Labour guaranteeing to meet the cost of settlements to the non government bodies. Such would include private primary health GP practices and private aged care.
They want them to
1.have a motive to negotiate hard, rather than agree to claims (delays any outcome).
2.use inability to pay (government not fully funding them from the get go) to delay meeting full settlement in the early years.