The announcement by the Government of its plan to amend the Equal Pay Act has been met with strong and vocal opposition.

Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says the Act will be amended to “make the process of raising and resolving pay equity claims more robust, workable and sustainable”.

“Pay equity is achieved when women and men are paid the same for work that is different but of equal value: for example, care and support workers and mental health assistants perform work that is different but is of equal value.

“It’s clear the current Act isn’t working as intended, and amendments made by the previous Government in 2020 have created issues.

“Claims have been able to progress without strong evidence of undervaluation and there have been very broad claims where it is difficult to tell whether differences in pay are due to sex-based discrimination or other factors.”

Van Velden says the Government’s changes will create a better framework and guidance for parties to use to assess whether there’s sex-based undervaluation.

The changes include raising the threshold of “predominantly performed by female employees” from 60 per cent to 70 per cent and requiring that this has been the case for at least 10 consecutive years.

It’ll also ensure there are reasonable grounds to believe the work is historically and currently undervalued, including a requirement for evidence, and provide further clarity and guidance on the use of comparators.

Employers will be able to meet their pay equity obligations in a way that is sustainable for their business, for example through phasing of settlements.

“The changes will discontinue current pay equity claims, but new claims can be raised under the amended Act if they meet the new requirements,” van Velden says.

“Review clauses in existing settlements will become unenforceable.

“Settled claims can be re-raised 10 years after settlement, if the claim meets the new requirements.”

The changes are reflected in a Bill introduced on May 6.

It will go through Parliament under urgency and amend the Equal Pay Act and take effect the day after Royal assent.

Among those speaking out against the changes are the Green Party, the Public Service Association (PSA), the Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner and the New Zealand Federation of Business and Professional Women.

The Green Party’s spokesperson for Women, Kahurangi Carter, says: “Women deserve fair pay.

“This move to undo years of pay equity progress is a monumental step backwards from the Government.

“Workers should be valued and treated as equals regardless of their gender, ethnicity or age.

“We can and must ensure women are paid fairly, are treated with respect and are safe – things this Government is actively undermining.

“The gender pay gap is one of the glaring shortfalls of our workforce.

“Make no mistake: this is a cost-cutting measure to fund tax cuts for the rich, a bill our communities will have to pick up.

“Rather than paying women what they deserve, this Government is shifting these costs onto our communities.”

PSA national secretary Fleur Fitzsimons says the Government’s proposed changes to the Equal Pay Act will severely limit people in female-dominated professions to be paid fairly.

“The new legislation … throws away all the work that’s been done to date solely to save the Government money.

“Women across the country will pay the price for this.

“The changes 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.”

Fitzsimons says the PSA is involved in 15 pay equity claims.

They include 65,000 care and support workers who have lost about $18,600 each due to pay discrimination while they’ve waited for the Government to fund their claim.

Janet Gibb, president of the New Zealand Federation of Business and Professional Women, says the organisation is “deeply concerned” by the Government’s announcement.

“The decision to halt current pay equity claims and introduce changes that will make it more difficult to lodge new ones is detrimental to women.

“Pay equity claims have delivered transformative outcomes for Aotearoa New Zealand.

“To stop now in these critical economic times is deeply concerning.

“The Government has now made it harder to access economic justice for women, given that the current pay equity claim process is already lengthy and complex.

“This move is a step backwards for gender equality in the workplace and risks entrenching inequality at a time when we should be accelerating progress.”

And Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner, professor Gail Pacheco, is expressing serious concerns over the overhaul of the Equal Pay Act.

“Pay equity claims aim to balance often longstanding inequities between men and women doing work of equal value.

“They’re an important part of broader goals for gender equality and equal opportunities across all aspects of life.

“The announced changes include limiting the scope of claims, setting higher thresholds, and requiring more evidence of inequities.

“The significant savings to the Government will come from the pockets of women working in jobs that are undervalued.”