A New Zealand parliamentary select committee has released a damning report finding "flagrant and significant abuse of power" in the government's handling of pay equity claims, exposing how Wellington systematically undermined its own pay equity legislation.
The Spinoff reports the findings document a pattern of government behavior that amounted to sabotaging workers attempting to use the very pay equity process the government had established.
Mate, Wellington passed pay equity laws, then systematically sabotaged workers trying to use them. A select committee just documented how the government abused its own process. This is what happens when political will evaporates after the photo op.
Pay equity legislation in New Zealand was meant to address the systemic undervaluation of work traditionally performed by women. The goal was to ensure workers in female-dominated occupations received pay comparable to workers in male-dominated roles requiring similar skills and responsibilities.
The legislation established a process for workers to bring pay equity claims, with the government promising to address historical pay disparities. But as the select committee's report documents, the government's actual behavior undermined that promise at nearly every turn.
The phrase "flagrant and significant abuse of power" is not parliamentary language used lightly. It suggests the committee found evidence of deliberate obstruction rather than mere bureaucratic inefficiency or policy disagreement.
While the full details of the report's findings require careful examination, the select committee's conclusions point to the government using its position as both employer and regulator to frustrate legitimate pay equity claims. This creates an impossible power imbalance: workers seeking equity face a government that controls both the process and the purse strings.
For the workers involved — many in care, education, and health sectors — the abuse of power represents not just procedural failure but continued financial hardship. Pay equity claims take years to resolve, and during that time, workers remain underpaid relative to their male counterparts in comparable roles.
The select committee's report also raises questions about New Zealand's international reputation on workers' rights and gender equity. The country has long positioned itself as a leader on these issues, but legislation without implementation is just performance.
The findings suggest that after the political capital of passing pay equity legislation was exhausted, the government showed little interest in actually delivering on its promises. The photo opportunities were over; the hard work of funding pay equity remained. And the select committee found the government chose obstruction over implementation.
This pattern is familiar in employment law: governments pass progressive legislation, then fail to fund or enforce it properly, leaving workers to navigate deliberately hostile processes with few resources. The pay equity case study is particularly egregious because it involves the government abusing its own legislation.
The select committee's report should prompt urgent action to reform the pay equity process and ensure the government cannot use its dual role as employer and regulator to frustrate legitimate claims. Workers in female-dominated occupations deserve the pay equity the law promises.
But beyond process reforms, the findings raise a deeper question: Does New Zealand's government actually support pay equity, or just the appearance of supporting it? The select committee's language suggests the latter, and workers have paid the price.
