Equal Pay Amendment Bill

The House is resumed. When we were debating last night, we were on the split call of the Equal Pay Amendment Bill.

Good morning, Madam Speaker. It is a pleasure to stand first today to speak about the Equal Pay Amendment Bill. From 2008, when National came into power as Government, New Zealand’s gender pay gap was at 12.5 percent. By 2017, that gender pay gap had been reduced to 9.3 percent. National supports this bill. National is committed to closing that gender pay gap.

After many legislative changes that paved the way for that reduction in the gender pay gap, which included the right to request flexible working arrangements for all employees, reducing barriers for women to work, and encouraging greater work-life balance for both men and women, the bill seeks to address the current shortfalls of the Equal Pay Act, arising from an undervaluation of work predominantly performed by women over time. Pay equity is a significant component of that gender pay gap.

The bill provides for practical and workable processes for employees and employers to follow. So, once a pay equity claim is lodged, the bill establishes a simple and practical process by which the employer and their employee can bargain and agree on a better arrangement, better pay, and better working conditions. The bill creates that framework, which had been initially absent from the current Equal Pay Act, which was not equipped to provide that guidance on pay equity claims once lodged.

National is committed to achieving pay equity in New Zealand, which is why we support the bill. It is, however, just important also to point out that a bill was lodged by our colleague on this side of the House Denise Lee in 2018, and that was voted down. That bill was predominantly similar to the bill that we have before us, and it would have been more expeditious if what had happened was, instead of being simply voted down, whatever shortfalls the members of this House found in that bill could have been resolved and sorted out at the committee process, which did not happen. So, essentially, what has resulted is this pay equity change of providing for a framework for bargaining after a pay equity claim that has been lodged has been delayed for at least two years. That’s the only reason why we raise concern for that, because that’s two years we consider as a wasted opportunity for the very many women out there who could have benefited already through this time.

Nevertheless, National supports this bill in furtherance of its commitment to achieve pay equity in New Zealand, and recognising that the bill is another step forward towards closing the gender pay gap.

Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. I’ll take only a short call because my message is short and to the point. National supports this bill. Of course we support this bill, because it’s the next step towards achieving pay equity in New Zealand and towards closing the gender pay gap. Of course we support this bill, because National’s pay equity equivalent bill was already in this House back in 2017.

We are angry that it’s taken so long to get any pay equity bill to its second reading. National and the pay equity advisory committee did this work nearly four years ago. In 2017, National’s bill had already passed the first reading and was in select committee. The new Labour coalition Government dumped it. In 2018, we gave the Government another chance to get legislation done when Denise Lee’s pay equity member’s bill was introduced to the House, and they voted it down. Finally, now, in 2020, very close to the end of their term in Government, in urgency, at last, you’ve finally got round to the second reading.

It is gross incompetence on the part of this Government that it has taken so long to get progress on a bill that is so important to women, and we are still not there. Women in New Zealand are still waiting for pay equity legislation to come into law, when it should have been in place back in 2017 or 2018. This Government talks a lot; it talks a lot about supporting women. This Government talks a lot; it talks a lot about being kind. This Government should be ashamed of itself that this pay equity legislation has taken so long to come. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Well, this is a great bill and thank goodness that we got rid of the incompetent piece of rubbish that was before us when we came into Government. “Hear, hear!” to this side of the House for working with stakeholders, putting something in place that actually will bring about pay equity for women, and, to that point, I commend this bill to the House.

Bill read a second time.