When the National-led Government passed the Equal Pay Amendment Act under urgency in May this year, they did so without consulting the working women affected. The People’s Select Committee on Pay Equity has been formed by 10 former MPs from across the political spectrum to examine the changes made to pay equity—and they want to hear from you.

The Committee is calling for submissions from the public so that experts, organisations and affected employers and workers can give the evidence that should have been before Parliament ahead of the legislation being voted on. The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi has put together this guide for submissions—make your voice heard on pay equity. Submissions close 31 July.

Start your submission with your stance

e.g. “I oppose/support the changes made to the Equal Pay Act ”.

Why do you have this stance?

Tell the Select Committee why you oppose Equal Pay Amendment Bill 2025. We recommend making this personal and putting it in your own words.

• If you’ve had a successful pay equity claim in the past, how did that positively impact you?
• If you were a part of one of the 33 cancelled claims, how did that affect you?
• Are you someone working in a female-dominated, underpaid industry?
• Do you have friends or whānau working in an affected industry?
• Is there a care worker looking after you or someone you’re close to? A teacher? A nurse?
• Do you rely on any public services affected by cancelled pay equity claims, like libraries or social services?
• Do you have concerns about the lack of public consultation undertaken before the Amendment was passed?

Make your recommendation

Recommend the changes you wanted to see if the Equal Pay Amendment Act had gone through a normal select committee process. This could be relating to specific parts of the Act that you don’t agree with, like the scrapping of current claims or the raising of thresholds, or your recommendation can be against the Act as a whole. The People’s Select Committee is looking for specific comments on the impact of the changes made, including:

• The threshold of “predominantly performed by female employees” being raised from 60 percent of an industry to 70 percent, with the requirement that this has been the case for at least the last 10 years.
• Male-dominated comparators now having to be taken from the same industry as the workers raising a claim.
• Employers being able to meet their pay equity obligations in a way that is sustainable for their business.
• Settled claims can’t be re-raised until 10 years after the original settlement.

Other things to keep in mind

• Keep it personal. Really making your submission your own will mean that the Committee gets to hear the full range of workers’ voices on pay equity.
• Keep it relevant. It might be tempting to get into a full list of this Government’s attacks on workers… but this Select Committee is specifically on the pay equity changes made in May this year. Your submission should reflect that.
• Keep it respectful. Leave out any personal attacks on political parties or MPs—these could lead to your submission being left out. Don’t include any offensive language.

When you’re ready, make your submission on the People’s Select Committee website here, or email them your submission directly at PeoplesSelectCommittee@payequity.org.nz. For more information on what to include in your submission, check out the People’s Select Committee’s guide to the Scope and Purpose of their work.