Unions Otago has condemned the Government's changes to the Equal Pay Act passed under urgency this week.

Unions Otago spokesperson Jen Wilson says the decision will halt current pay equity claims for thousands of workers in female-dominated occupations and make future claims significantly more difficult.

Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden of the ACT Party announced the changes this week.

Ms Wilson says the Union view is that these changes to legislation are a regressive step and a cynical cost-cutting measure at the expense of working women.

"This is an outrageous attack on working women and reverses decades of hard-won progress towards eliminating the gender pay gap,” says Ms Wilson.

"To see the Government rush through legislation that will directly harm women and their families, all under the guise of fiscal prudence, is deeply concerning and disturbing.”

Ms Wilson says the move was is a cynical cost-cutting exercise to try and balance the Government's books before the upcoming Budget, and it's being done on the backs of those who can least afford it.

As part of nationwide protests to support women workers under attack from the Government, Unions Otago has organized a local event.

PROTECT PAY EQUITY! PROTEST DETAILS:

• VENUE: The Exchange, corner of Princes and Rattray Streets (also known as John Wickliffe Square), Dunedin
• WHEN: 1:30 pm, Friday, 9 May 2025

"This protest is just the beginning," says Ms Wilson.

"Unions are building a widespread campaign to reverse this disgraceful legislation. When workers' rights are under attack, we must stand up and fight back."

Unions Otago encourages the public to make their voices heard by signing the Together petition, calling on the Government to reverse its decision: 
https://www.together.org.nz/fbt_for_pay_equity

Unions Otago is the local affiliates council of the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi for the Otago region.

The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi brings together over 320,000 New Zealand union members in 27 affiliated unions.

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