The details of how this hard right Government kneecapped the pay parity deal to literally rob workers to give a tax break to the bosses, are coming out now and the dirty tactics involved to screw over our poorest workers is obscene…
Use of urgency to upend pay equity scheme decided after PM’s meeting with senior ministers
New documents reveal the Government’s use of urgency to rush through controversial changes to the country’s pay equity scheme wasn’t decided until after a high-powered meeting between the Prime Minister and senior ministers.
A document dump yesterday from several government agencies provides an insight into the Government’s shock decision in May to amend the Equal Pay Act, which ministers claimed created a fiscally unsustainable pay equity scheme as changes saved almost $13 billion over the next four years.
The changes, which stopped 33 live pay equity claims, raised the threshold for claims to be made and limited the job types workforces could use as comparators when arguing inequity.
The amendments announced by Workplace Relations Minister Brooke van Velden had not been publicly forecast, and the Government used urgency to pass the bill through the House, meaning no public consultation was done.
Now, documents released yesterday showed urgency hadn’t been raised by officials in the months of preparation through 2024 before potential reform.
Urgency first appeared after Prime Minister Christopher Luxon met with van Velden, Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Public Service Minister Judith Collins between 9pm and 10pm on March 4 this year.
Documents showed the meeting had been set by Luxon’s office, overriding plans van Velden’s office had to speak with Collins and Willis about the changes around the same time.
Publicly, ministers argued that urgency was warranted to ensure claims were judged under the same conditions.
Briefings to van Velden from Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) officials in February said there had been “limited testing and analysis” of the changes due to the “short timeframe to develop proposals”.
“There remains the risk of the changes not achieving the policy intent and unintended consequences arising once the bill has been passed,” officials warned.
Officials acknowledged that altering the pay equity scheme in such a way would likely be “contentious” because it would retrospectively remove people’s rights and override some aspects of existing settlements.
They also advised secrecy until after the bill was introduced because it risked a large increase in the number of claims lodged.
…note they released that last Thursday at 9pm!
The Government lied to you about the need for urgency and kept it secret to minimise our ability to fight it!
They robbed the most vulnerable workers so as to pay the Bosses tax breaks on capital!
It’s the exact opposite of Robin Hood! This Government steals from the poor to give to the rich and do it in secret so you don’t know!
How bitter must you be towards Jacinda, vaccines, Trans people and Māori for this to be acceptable to you Kiwi?
Time to take a hard long look at yourself in the mirror Kiwi and ask if the right manipulating your anger for the rich is really who you are as person.
Get off your knees to rich Kiwi.
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This goes beyond even dirty politics.
Pure corruption Geoff.
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