Labour will restore pay equity legislation in its first 100 days and give an immediate pay rise to 65,000 care and support workers.

From 1 January 2027, care and support workers will receive an immediate pay rise of $4 an hour. This will mean the average full-time worker will be $8,320 a year better off, or $160 a week before tax.

“This election is about the cost of living. Labour is doing what Christopher Luxon refused to do and paying women properly,” Labour’s workplace relations and safety spokesperson Jan Tinetti said.

“Care and support workers do some of the most important work in our communities, and overwhelmingly they are women. 

“This immediate pay rise is real money for people who are paying the mortgage, the rent, the power bill and the grocery shop. It reflects their hard work and the hardship they’ve experienced these past three years under National.

“The reinstated legislation will accommodate the previous work underway so that women aren’t starting from scratch.

“At a time when one in three households can’t afford food and tens of thousands more children are living in hardship, National chose to cut women’s pay. History will remember this as a disgraceful attack on women’s rights and dignity.

“An estimated 11,000 New Zealand children are currently in poverty because of National’s cancelled pay equity claims. Labour will fix this.

“Labour will not accept a system where work is undervalued simply because it is work traditionally done by women. 

“Labour has always backed our hard-working women. While National takes money out of their pockets, Labour will put more of it back,” Jan Tinetti said.