The government is marking Suffrage Day with the introduction of legislation making it easier for employees to make a pay equity claim. Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
One of the country's leading experts on pay equity has described the government changes in one word - appalling.
Amy Ross is the former head of the pay equity taskforce which sat within the Public Service Commission, it was set up in 2021 to help government agencies navigate the Equal Pay Act.
It also worked to develop tools and the complex frameworks used to evaluate and compare roles and pay rates.
Changes to the Equal Pay Act passed on Wednesday in Parliament include increasing the threshold for when a claim can be brought, a greater emphasis on "market factors", no ability to review a claim for at least 10 years, and no ability for workers to be paid equally any sooner than three years after a claim is settled.
Nationwide protests are taking place today in response to the changes.
Amy Ross runs her own consultancy firm Work Ethics.
