Dear John,

I wanted to take the opportunity to clarify the Government’s intent behind amending the Equal Pay Act.

National is committed to pay equity

Firstly, despite the misinformation being spread by the Labour Party and the Unions, the Government is committed to pay equity for women.

The Government remains committed to addressing gender discrimination in the workplace. We believe that work of equal value should be paid equally and accept that this has not always been the case. We are not walking back this commitment.

The changes we have made to the Equal Pay Act are not about denying gender-based discrimination or rolling back equal pay or pay equity. Nothing about equal pay requirements has changed. We have amended the process for raising and settling a pay equity claim to ensure that we have a pragmatic and enduring system for addressing gender-based discrimination. Importantly, there will still be a way to raise and settle a pay equity claim.

Why we've changed the Act

We have amended the process for raising and settling a pay equity claim – which is different to the concept of equal pay. Equal pay is not being changed in any way.

The previous process was not working as intended. It doesn’t make sense to compare admin staff with mechanical engineers. The updated process will be more sustainable and enduring for everyone.

All we are doing is trying as much as possible to simplify a framework to work out an inherently complex calculation.

National has a proud history of supporting pay equity. It was a National-led government that made the original pay equity settlement with care and support workers in 2017 for $2 billion. It was also a National government that introduced the original framework for assessing pay equity in 2017. The changes we have made bring us closer to the 2017 system.

Urgency

In terms of timing, urgency is sometimes required to deal with unintended consequences or systems that are no longer functioning as they should and to provide maximum clarity.

It’s important to have one clear, consistent system for managing pay equity claims. Running two different systems at the same time – one under the old rules and one under the new – would create confusion and potential legal uncertainty and unfairness for both workers and employers.

Here to help

As always, my team and I are here and available to help.

You can get in touch with us by emailing [email protected], phone 03 344 2800, or pop into the office in Rolleston Square between Monday and Fridays, 10:00am - 4:00pm.

Kind regards,

Hon Nicola Grigg
https://www.national.org.nz/nicolagrigg

www.national.org.nz

41 Pipitea Street
Thorndon, Wellington 6011
New Zealand

Authorised by Nicola Grigg, Parliament Buildings, Wellington

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