Pay equity has moved firmly into the Election 2026 campaign, with Labour promising an immediate pay increase for tens of thousands of care and support workers if it forms the next government.
Labour workplace relations and safety spokesperson Jan Tinetti says the party would restore pay equity legislation within its first 100 days and ensure previous work on claims could be carried forward rather than forcing workers to start again.
Under Labour’s policy, an estimated 65,000 care and support workers would receive an additional $4 an hour from 1 January 2027. Labour calculates that would leave an average full-time worker around $160 a week, or $8,320 a year, better off before tax.
The party says the immediate increase is fully funded within its fiscal plan, while future pay equity settlements would be negotiated and funded through future Budgets as agreements are reached.
The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions has cautiously welcomed the proposal but says the immediate increase should not be confused with achieving full pay equity. It says the wider objective remains addressing the historic undervaluation of work predominantly performed by women.
The issue has become increasingly prominent during the campaign, with care and support workers, unions and political parties debating how the pay equity system should operate and how future settlements should be funded.
Tinetti joined Waatea to discuss why Labour has put pay equity back at the centre of its employment policy, what the proposed increase would mean for workers and their whānau, and how the party intends to move from an immediate wage increase toward resolving outstanding pay equity claims.
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