Will’s Word: Pay equity rollback hurts Pacific women the most

Five unions are taking the Government to the High Court over its sudden changes to pay equity laws and frankly they should. What the Government's done isn't just unfair, it's a direct hit on the women who can least afford it.

By pushing the legislation through under urgency, which is rather cheeky, the Coalition cancelled 33 claims, mostly from female-dominated jobs like nursing, teaching and care work.

Claims that were years in the making. Claims that mattered. You’d argue, who carries the heaviest burden? Pacific women. Already paid less than their Pākehā and Māori counterparts. Already over-represented in the very industries the Government has targeted.

Already stretched between low wages and soaring living costs. For them, this rollback pauses progress, and it slams the door shut on any progress that was made in the years leading up to this.

The unions are right to argue there are breaches. The Bill of Rights Act, blocking legal pathways to challenge gender-based discrimination, says one thing loud and clear to me: equality is optional.

This case is more than just pay equity on paper. It's about whether we're prepared to value women, especially Pacific women, who keep things like our health, education, and care systems alive.

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Without this challenge that's been put forward by five unions to the High Court, the message to them is brutal. Your work, your skills, your worth, don't count. At least that's how I see it.

So, it's a good move, the unions taking this legal action. I'm all for it.

That's Will's Word.