Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa New Zealand Nurses Organisation is welcoming the Green Party’s commitment to restore the previous pay equity framework and prioritise a settlement for care and support workers.
The Greens have announced they would reverse the 2025 pay equity changes, prioritise the Care and Support Workers claim and provide dedicated funding towards reaching a settlement. NZNO is now calling on other political parties to make their positions on pay equity clear ahead of the election.
NZNO members joined workers from E tū and the PSA at the announcement in Tāmaki Makaurau. The unions estimate around 65,000 care and support workers were affected when their claim was among those discontinued following changes to the Equal Pay Act in May 2025.
NZNO delegate and aged-care worker Sabina Lama says the workforce provides essential support that enables older New Zealanders to live with dignity and independence, but many workers remain among the lowest paid in the health sector. NZNO says care and support workers are typically earning between $23.95 and $31 an hour.
The union argues the issue is particularly important for a workforce dominated by women and says pay equity should address the historic undervaluation of work in female-dominated occupations.
NZNO says unions estimate restoring the entire pay equity system would require at least $12.8 billion over four years, and it wants all parties contesting the November election to outline what they would do on the issue.
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