[link removed]

[link removed]

Dear John,
=C2=A0
You have no doubt heard a lot about pay equity in the last week. But a lot =
of what has been said is not based in fact.=C2=A0
=C2=A0
First. The right to equal pay remains the same as it ever was- and has been=
in law since 1973. =C2=A0The simple concept that a woman doing the same jo=
b as a man should get the same pay has not changed. =C2=A0
=C2=A0
Second. =C2=A0No woman has had her pay cut. =C2=A0Twelve existing pay equit=
y settlements for nurses, social workers, midwives, teacher aides, school l=
ibrarians, care and support workers and other female-dominated workforces r=
emain and we are continuing to fund them, costing about $ 1.8 billion per y=
ear.=C2=A0
Our Government values those workers and none of them should be scared think=
ing their pay is at risk- it=E2=80=99s not.
=C2=A0
Third. =C2=A0Additional claims under the new legislation we introduced last=
week are expected- and we have provisioned for them in the Budget. =C2=A0W=
e fully expect there will be successful claims in the future.=C2=A0
=C2=A0
The Pay Equity Change Explained
It=E2=80=99s clear people are using pay equity as a weapon to conflate othe=
r issues, including those that should be dealt with through standard pay ne=
gotiations.
Pay equity is not about equal-it=E2=80=99s about recognising and correcting=
for the fact that some female-dominated workforces have been historically =
underpaid and undervalued due to sex-based discrimination.=C2=A0
=C2=A0
The tricky bit is how to define in law what jobs are of =E2=80=98equal valu=
e=E2=80=99 - which aspects of pay are down to sex-discrimination and what a=
re the result of other market-based factor? The first pay-equity claim was =
proved in the Supreme Court by Kristine Bartlett on behalf of thousands of =
care and support workers, and after delivering that settlement, the Nationa=
l Government moved quickly to design a clear legal regime so that other cla=
ims could be progressed without workers having to resort to the Courts.=C2=
=A0
=C2=A0
In 2020, a full three years later, Labour put its own, very loose, regime i=
nto law. Unfortunately, like almost everything Labour got its hands on, the=
system got way out of whack and became completely unaffordable; admin work=
ers were being compared with civil engineers; social workers were being com=
pared with detectives; and librarians were being compared with fishery offi=
cers. Multiple employers were being joined to claims with dozens of very di=
fferent jobs in scope.=C2=A0
=C2=A0
What started as a pay equity regime had become a Trojan Horse for a multi-b=
illion dollar grievance industry driven by public sector unions. It had dep=
arted a very long way from issues of sex-discrimination.=C2=A0
=C2=A0
What we did last week was put in law a much more workable pay equity regime=
that focuses squarely on the actual issue of sex-based discrimination.=C2=
=A0
=C2=A0
Yes, these changes mean savings for the Government- but sticking with it wo=
uld have meant large new taxes, reckless amounts of borrowing or significan=
t spending cuts elsewhere.
=C2=A0
We are now able to have more funding available for things like cancer drugs=
, new schools, new hospitals and other much needed initiatives for Budget 2=
025.
=C2=A0
You can read the facts here [link removed]
=C2=A0
Nicola Willis
=C2=A0
PS - you may have seen the piece in the SST on Sunday. I responded to that =
article=C2=A0[here]([link removed]
-enough-slurs-now-some-facts), if you=E2=80=99re keen to read more.

=E2=80=8A

[Facebook]([link removed])
[Twitter]([link removed])
[Instagram]([link removed])
[Tiktok]([link removed])

[www.national.org.nz]([link removed])
=C2=A0
New Zealand National Party
41 Pipitea Street
Thorndon, Wellington 6011
New Zealand
=C2=A0
If this email advertises any event or events that asked for payment to atte=
nd, then it is a fundraising event with proceeds, after costs, being a dona=
tion to the New Zealand National Party.
=C2=A0
Authorised by J de Joux, 41 Pipitea St, Wellington.

=C2=A9 2025 | All rights reserved.

This email was sent to [email protected]
You can [unsubscribe]([link removed]
ibe?a=3DVmYELi&c=3D01JBBJ5HSZJNZ6ET6NF8VKT466&k=3D18bda10f3f1c0dda266bac60f=
da8b67a&m=3D01JV3HD4K5K47SGHXYWP4MXWEW&r=3D01JV3RY87NGWD67PSCEQ6ES5JR) from=
this list.