Alert! Equal Pay Act being repealed
The Employment Relations Law Reform Bill now in Parliament repeals the Equal Pay Act 1972. A new section of legislation will replace it that ‘will not deal with not equal pay for work of equal value’. It only provides for equal pay in the same job – using much the complaints system that women don’t use now because it doesn’t work.
The current Act has a definition for ‘equal pay for work of equal value’ but this is being dropped. This is contrary to NZ’s ratification of International Labour Organisation Convention 100 and the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). It runs contrary to policy work being undertaken by the Ministry of women’s Affairs, Department of Labour and right now by the Taskforce on Pay & Employment Equity in the Public Service, Health & Education. The Taskforce’s report on pay equity to government is due out two days after public submissions close on the Reform Bill that removes the only mention of pay equity in NZ law. What is going on here? Check out the following sources of information and get your submission in by 27 February. Tell the Select Committee to drop this change. Women need provisions on equal pay and equal pay for work of equal value that will work. These changes will not. If Parliament can’t give us something better than this, they should wait until the policy work is done so that they can.
Visit the Coalition for Equal Value Equal Pay web site (CEVEP)Equal Pay Repeal Information Pack