The National Council of Women of New Zealand (NCWNZ) welcomes the Fair Pay Agreements Act. Extending collective bargaining has the potential to improve minimum wages and conditions of employment for all those in low paid work and in particular Māori, Pacific, disabled and migrant women. The President of NCWNZ, Dr Suzanne Manning, says:

“We believe that collective employment agreements are good for women. They can promote the value of women’s work, provide enhanced provisions such as additional paid parental leave, and actively support equity in the workplace by reducing the gender wage gap. NCWNZ believes that the Fair Pay Agreement Act will benefit workplace productivity in Aotearoa New Zealand by balancing the interests of employees and employers, and fostering collaboration, stability, and greater workplace harmony.”

NCWNZ congratulates the government on this piece of legislation and asks that the government now focuses on ensuring transparency of conditions and pay rates. Workers in low paid and casualised sectors will need government support to easily access accurate information about pay rates and conditions in their sector for effective collective bargaining.

NCWNZ also welcomes the government's announcement that NACEW has been given responsibility for identifying an appropriate pay transparency mechanism, which will be important in reducing the gender pay gap.

To read the full statement by the NCWNZ, sent as a submission in May 2022 to the Education and Workforce Committee on the Fair Pay Agreements Bill 115-1, download the .pdf file here.