The stripping away of  pay equity progress – hitting 180,000 mostly female workers is not just bad policy, but a betrayal of generations of women who fought for equal pay, writes East Coast Labour list MP Jo Luxton

Christopher Luxon is taking money out of women’s pockets – just to make his budget add up.

Without any warning or consultation, the Government forced through a law change that will stop 180,000 workers, mostly women, getting the pay they deserve.  

It is a cynical move and it’s been rushed through Parliament because they simply can’t make their numbers work.

For generations, hundreds of thousands of New Zealand women have fought tirelessly for equal pay for work of equal value.

The fact men are paid more for work of equal value is well documented in New Zealand. Women currently earn around 92 cents to every dollar a man earns.  The difference gets even bigger in female-dominated professions where work has been historically undervalued.

Good progress was being made towards equal pay for the Kiwis who form the backbone of our society. These include our nurses who care for us, teachers who shape our children’s futures, midwives who bring life into our communities, support workers who provide dignity to those who need it, and more.

The money was there. Years of progress were well under way. But National turned its back on them, scrapping every single claim.

Your elected MP Dana Kirkpatrick has supported this move to cut women’s pay. Let’s be clear, choosing to make working women pay for National’s tax breaks to tobacco companies is plain wrong.

I know many of you in Whakatāne share my outrage. This was made clear by the support at the recent protest outside National’s electorate office. The protest organisers named this “a shameful act of discrimination and disregard for the years of struggle for fair pay for those who can least afford it”.

I stand alongside unions, workers, mothers, and concerned New Zealanders on this message – women deserve equal pay. Our women, teachers, care and support workers deserve better.  

Equal work deserves equal pay, and it’s time National recognised that. Government MPs, and local MP Dana Kirkpatrick, need to front up and tell us why they think women should be paid less than men.

Labour stands proudly for equal pay. We will stand up now, in the hope that our daughters and future generations don’t have to.