Greens welcome launch of People’s Select Committee report on Pay Equity

The Green Party has welcomed the release of the report from the People’s Select Committee on Pay Equity.

“This report makes clear what we have said all along: the Government’s decision to make it easier to underpay people and limiting pay equity access is yet another attack on women,” says the Green Party’s spokesperson for women, Kahurangi Carter.

“The Government underestimated how badly this would go down with the public. Today, the workers this Government tried to silence have found their voice, and it is powerful.”

“Make no mistake: this is a cost-cutting measure taken straight from the people who need it. Rather than paying women what they’re worth, this Government is simply shifting these costs onto women to bear.

“Pay inequity disproportionately impacts Māori, Pacific and disabled women. The very communities already facing the greatest barriers to fair pay. This Government is deepening those disparities, not closing them.

“Our healthcare, education, and social service workers are the backbone of our country. They deserve better than a government that undermines their pay and conditions at every turn.

“The fact that former MPs from across the political spectrum came together on a pro bono basis to do the work this Government refused to do tells you everything you need to know about how egregious these changes are.

“This wasn’t a technical tweak. This was wage theft on a national scale, rushed through without any opportunity for the women affected to have their say.

“The Green Party is committed to all of the demands from unions, to repeal this legislation and fully fund pay equity claims. Workers deserve that commitment from every party in Parliament,” says Carter.

Green Party MP and former Minister for Women Julie Anne Genter says the report confirms the damage done to a framework she helped build.

“As Minister for Women, I worked alongside unions and workers to pass the Equal Pay Amendment Act in 2020, legislation that passed unanimously and was one of the biggest gains for gender equity since the Equal Pay Act 1972. This Government has torn that up.

“Over 100,000 workers had already received significant pay increases, many in the double digits, through the framework this Government gutted. The evidence of what was working was right in front of them, and they chose to destroy it to fund their tax cuts for landlords and tobacco companies,” says Genter.