Rural Women fear the impact pay equity changes will have on rural communities
In its appearance before the People’s Select Committee on Pay Equity today, Rural Women New Zealand (RWNZ) called on the Government to reconsider changes to the Equal Pay Act that threaten to entrench pay inequities and exacerbate workforce shortages in rural communities.
In its submission to the People’s Select Committee on Pay Equity, RWNZ outlined how the recent pay equity reforms, including the scrapping of 33 active pay equity claims and the introduction of tougher claim thresholds, will disadvantage rural women and the sectors they work in.
“Women are the backbone of our rural healthcare, education and community services, which are sectors grappling with recruitment and retention issues,” says Sandra Matthews, National President of Rural Women New Zealand. “Making it harder to achieve fair pay will only deepen those workforce challenges.”
“If the ability to seek fair pay is delayed or denied, rural communities will find it even harder to recruit and retain the staff needed to deliver essential services.”
“People are worried not just about their pay, but about the future of services in their communities.”
A particular concern is the new requirement that workforces be at least 70% female over ten consecutive years in order to be eligible to bring a claim.
“That threshold is simply unrealistic for small rural employers whose staffing levels naturally fluctuate,” says Matthews. “A rural ECE centre or health clinic might meet the threshold most years, but not every year, and that could rule them out entirely.”
RWNZ also criticises the lack of transparency and consultation in the reform process, which saw the legislation passed under urgency and without public consultation.
“These changes were rushed through without proper engagement, and they ignore the government’s own guidance when it comes to protecting rural communities against policy changes that may negatively affect them.”
RWNZ is asking the Government to reinstate the 33 discontinued claims, lower the female-dominance threshold, and ensure smaller rural employers are supported to participate in the pay equity process.
“The societal and political changes that underpin the pay equity movement were fought for by generations of women,” says Matthews. “Progress was hard won, and it is very disappointing to see it given up so easily.”