David Seymour Criticises Rural Women NZ Over Submission
Deputy Prime Minister and ACT Party leader David Seymour says advocacy group Rural Women New Zealand (RWNZ) has submitted against a controversial bill without consulting its members.
The complaint was brought by Pay Equity Coalition Aotearoa (PECA), which includes the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions, Te Kāhui Tika Tangata Human Rights Commission and RWNZ.
Complaint Targets Changes to Pay Equity Framework
The filing comes exactly a year after controversial new legislation was passed, cancelling existing pay equity claims and introducing stricter tests for bringing new claims.
Pay equity claims are raised to ensure people receive equal pay for work of equal value.
The cancelled claims covered more than 180,000 workers across sectors like care and disability support, education, health, and community and social services. The majority of the people impacted by those claim cancellations are women.
Allegations of Systemic Disadvantage
Sandra Kirby, chief executive of RWNZ, says the amendments were made without proper engagement and ignored the government's guidance regarding the protection of rural communities against policy changes that may negatively affect them.
"A year on, the women who lost their pay equity claims are still showing up, still caring for our elderly, still teaching our children, and still waiting to be paid fairly for it, in a system where the goalposts have been moved so far that many may never get there," Kirby says.
International Human Rights Framework
The complaint asks the United Nations to consider whether legislative changes have created systemic discrimination against women, particularly in relation to equality in employment and equal pay for work of equal value.
Both are protected under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), to which New Zealand is a signatory.
The United Nations will now assess whether the complaint is admissable.
If accepted, it will be sent to the New Zealand Government for a response. Then, the CEDAW Committee will consider the case and provide its views and recommendations.
Advocacy and Ongoing Engagement
RWNZ has been advocating on the equal pay issue since May 2025 when the Equal Pay Amendment Act passed without consultation.
The organisation submitted to the People's Select Committee on Pay Equity in August 2025.
"Workers across the country were hurt, but rural communities feel it in a particular way, because so much of what keeps them alive depends on work in health, education and care that has historically been undervalued and underpaid," says Kirby.
"For 100 years Rural Women New Zealand has believed rural women deserve fairness and dignity, and we’ll keep advocating until they have it,” she concludes.
