Media release: Pay Equity Progress Undone

Yesterday, Te Pai Ora Social Service Providers Aotearoa (Te Pai Ora SSPA) presented a submission to the People’s Select Committee, drawing on our direct experience with pay equity claims in the community-funded sector. The submission highlights both the progress made and the serious setbacks that now threaten to undo it.

The 2022/23 pay equity settlement for NGO social workers was a landmark achievement. With an average 27% pay increase, it changed lives, enabling workers to support their families, save for retirement, and be recognised on par with their government-employed peers.

But that success now stands in stark contrast to the cancelled claim for social service workers — tens of thousands of professionals left behind under new, restrictive criteria. Their work hasn’t changed. Its value hasn’t diminished. Yet their path to equity was erased when their claim was one of 33 cancelled under recent amendments to the Equal Pay Act.

The amendments compounded the damage done through a government-led overhaul of pay equity processes in 2024. It included the dismantling of the Funded Sector Framework, which had provided a structured pathway for funding equity settlements in the community sector. Its removal, along with tighter eligibility rules, has made it nearly impossible for underpaid workers to access fair pay.

Speaking to the amendments, Te Pai Ora SSPA Pay Equity Co-ordinator Brenda Pilott said: “We’re not asking to go back. We’re asking to go forward — with a reset that’s principled, practical, and informed by lived experience.” She explained that Te Pai Ora SSPA’s submission outlines an eight-part framework for reform: “We're calling for bold change to build a pay equity system that is fair and robust, but also workable.”

“This is a moment to learn from experience and build on the momentum already created. We call on all stakeholders — across government, community, and sector — to take the next step toward meaningful, lasting reform,” said Te Pai Ora SSPA CEO Belinda Himiona.

ENDS