‘Anger, integrity and passion’: Whanganui protest targets Equal Pay Amendment Bill

Rosemary Baragwanath and Melanie Aislabie attended the protest against the Equal Pay Amendment Bill in Whanganui on Friday. Photo / Olivia Reid

More than 60 people gathered outside the Victoria Ave office of Whanganui MP Carl Bates today as part of nationwide protests against the Government’s pay equity changes.

The reforms, passed under urgency on Wednesday, overhaul a 2020 law establishing a regime to allow people in sectors with a large female workforce to argue that they were underpaid relative to similar work done in sectors dominated by men.

The changes will be retrospective. All 33 current pay equity claims will cease, and claimants will need to reapply under the new regime.

The Government is looking at a post-implementation review of the changes, which will save it “billions” over the next few years.

Whanganui district councillor Charlotte Melser, who was at the protest, praised the turnout and the “anger, integrity and passion” of the attendees.

“Considering how quickly this has been pushed on us, I think it was an incredible turnout,” she said.

“We know there were protests all over the country today that were pulled together really quickly, and that shows me that New Zealand is angry.”

Melser believed Whanganui should be concerned about the amendments because it had a lower average household income than the national average.

“Our cost of living is dramatically increasing and ... we rely on these roles that are predominantly filled by women to support our community.

“This legislation change is something our community should be really worried about.”

Bates said “context is important” when considering the law changes.

Whanganui MP Carl Bates says "context is crucial" in considering the Equal Pay Amendments Bill.

The Equal Pay Amendment Bill does not remove the possibility of sector-wide claims being made, but it makes the requirements stricter.

The changes include raising the threshold for work “predominantly performed by female employees” from 60% to 70%; stricter guidelines on the use of comparators; and adding more ways in which employers can meet pay equity obligations.

“What we did this week was take the legislation back to be more representative of the amendments that National was in support of in 2020 to make sure that we have a sustainable, robust system of pay equity,” Bates said.

“The amendments this week had no impact on equal pay and the National Party remains committed to equal pay and pay equity.”

Charlotte Melser said the Whanganui community should be worried about the Equal Pay Amendments Bill, which Parliament passed this week.

Since the bill passed, a petition supported by unions, such as E tū, New Zealand Writers Guild, Tertiary Institutes Allied Staff Association and more, has amassed almost 55,000 signatures.

Bates did not make an appearance at the protest because of a prior commitment to attend the Rural Nats Forum in Rotorua, but said he welcomed anyone with questions and concerns to speak to him.

Melser hoped Bates would attend to gain insight into the process of the amendments. She also had concerns about the bill being passed under urgency.

Bates said urgency used to keep the legal process smooth.

“If the Government had said ‘this is happening’ and there was a long period of time before it actually happened, it could create challenges around those legal processes for all involved.”

The Equal Pay Amendment Bill does not officially become law until it receives royal assent, via the Governor-General, which is likely to be given early next week.

Olivia Reid is a multimedia journalist based in Whanganui.