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Protests have been held across Aotearoa NZ against the right-wing National-ACT-NZ First coalition government’s latest act of class war.

Without notice or public consultation, the coalition forced through a bill amending the country’s Equal Pay Act on May 6. It was a “dark day for working people, for women, and … democracy”.  

The Act allows women working in “feminine” roles — such as care workers and librarians — to make pay equity claims based on gender discrimination.

It acknowledges that these types of roles have been underpaid historically, not because of the nature of the work, but because they are usually performed by women.

The coalition government’s amendments have significantly raised the threshold to make claims under the Act going forward.

They have also been applied retrospectively, meaning 33 existing claims representing more than 150,000 workers have been thrown out.

Some of them — mostly involving health workers and teachers — had been worked on for years. They are now all back at square one.

Previous claims under the Act had resulted in settlements of NZD$4 billion to 30,000 nurses in 2023, and $2 billion to 55,000 care and support workers in 2017.

Claimants can re-apply under the new legislation, however critics are concerned that the new rules are designed to ensure that most won’t succeed.

NZ Council of Trade Unions secretary Melissa Ansell-Bridges stated: “It may actually be impossible to get a claim through … by the time you reach all of the new thresholds.” 

The legislation was introduced and passed on the same day, under a process allowed in Aotearoa’s parliament called “urgency”.

Urgency is a mechanism for the government to rapidly push through law changes, with little to no scrutiny by the House or public.

This undemocratic process has been used a number of times by the coalition since it came to power in late 2023.

The pay equity bill was put forward by Brooke van Velden, the Workplace Relations MP and deputy leader of the libertarian ACT party.  

Opposition parties accused the government of rushing the changes through to save money in its next budget, which is due to be handed down on May 22.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon this, saying “it’s got nothing to do with the budget”.  He admitted however that the changes could save the government “billions of dollars”.

After the bill passed, ACT leader David Seymour congratulated van Velden, who he said had “saved the taxpayer billions” and “saved the budget for the government”.

It had been speculated that the government would have large holes to plug in the next budget, after it implemented a raft of tax cuts it could not afford.

The cuts are projected to cost the country NZD$14.7 billion over a four-year period.  They largely benefit corporations and the wealthy, with $2.9 billion of the total going specifically to landlords.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis has claimed the tax cuts will be fully funded through a reduction in spending.  However, in last year’s budget, government borrowing rose by $12 billion.

Labour leader Chris Hipkins said at the time: "You don't need an abacus to figure out that this is a government borrowing to pay for tax cuts".

Greens co-leader Marama Davidson said the pay equity changes were a “politically violent act” toward women and workers.

"This government is expecting women workers, and the lowest paid women workers, to bear the brunt of their tax cuts for the wealthy."

Labour and the Greens have said they will reverse the changes if they return to parliament after the next election.

The coalition’s latest act of class war has galvanised people in a way not seen since the historic hikoi mo te Tiriti protests against the Treaty Principles Bill last year.

Protests against the pay equity amendments were held nationwide on May 9 and 10, with more planned over the coming weeks.

They are being organised by the Public Service Association (PSA), Aotearoa’s largest trade union, representing more than 95,000 workers.

PSA National Secretary Fleur Fitzsimons said in a statement: “The Government is snatching [money] from…women and using it to line landlords’ pockets.  It spits on this country’s supposedly proud history of advancing equal rights.”

Aotearoa was the first country in the world to grant women the vote in 1893 and the first to allow women to run for parliament in 1919.

The coalition government is turning back the clock on this progress to pad the pockets of corporations and the wealthy.

Two days after the pay equity bill was passed under urgency, the government rushed through another controversial with no consultation.

The amendment to the Wildlife Act will allow companies to legally kill kiwi and other native wildlife if they get in the way of projects such as roads, mines or dams.

These neoliberal policies are not what the people of Aotearoa asked for at the last election.

National campaigned strongly on reducing the cost of living and improving schools and healthcare. None of those metrics have improved since they took office.

Meanwhile, minority coalition partners – ACT and NZ First - have been able to implement their most right-wing agendas with no democratic mandate.

The next general election will be in late 2026.  It is more important than ever that the working class of Aotearoa mobilise to ensure the “coalition of chaos” ends up being a one-term government.