A protest is scheduled in Rolleston on Friday as part of a nationwide response to the Government’s changes to pay equity laws.
The demonstration, organised in reaction to what has been described as the “unconstitutional and undemocratic” passage of the legislation, will take place outside Minister Nicola Grigg’s electorate office at Rolleston Square from 1 p.m.
The Public Service Association (PSA) said the new legislation undermines efforts to achieve pay equity for female-dominated professions and will significantly disadvantage underpaid women across the country.
PSA National Secretary Fleur Fitzsimons said there was a groundswell of public anger growing in response to the changes.
“We welcome this outpouring of support that is growing organically in the community for opposing these unconstitutional and undemocratic law changes,” Fitzsimons said.
“The changes will take money from underpaid, predominantly female workers to plug the gap in the Government’s budget caused by its reckless, unaffordable policies such as multi-billion dollar tax relief for landlords.
“We will be relentlessly campaigning against the pay equity changes between now and the next election.”
Government’s Position
Workplace Relations Minister Brooke van Velden defended the changes, saying the current laws had become “muddied and unclear.”
She maintained the need for stronger evidence in pay equity claims, saying, “Claims have been able to progress without strong evidence of undervaluation and there have been very broad claims where it is difficult to tell whether differences in pay are due to sex-based discrimination or other factors.”
Van Velden said, “these changes are better for all women who are working where we can genuinely say hand on heart that what they are finding with their claims is genuine gender-based discrimination.”
