Labour would undo pay equity changes in its first 100 days
Opposition leader Chris Hipkins says Labour would undo the Government's pay equity law changes in its first 100 days if elected.
He made the promise at a public meeting in Spreydon, Christchurch, on Monday 28 September 2026, RNZ reported.
Close to 200 people were there. The hall was full, with some people out the doors.
Hipkins said care and support workers would be first to talk through a new pay deal. He said fixing pay equity was the most important thing his government would do for women and girls in New Zealand.
This builds on an earlier Labour promise. In February, Labour said it would scrap the changes but gave no full plan, Interest reported. At that time Hipkins could not say if the old rules would return unchanged. The changes have been strongly argued over. The Prime Minister and Hipkins have clashed over who is lying about the system, RNZ reported in May last year.
In practical terms, the 100 days is like a deadline on a to-do list. It would put the repeal at the top of the jobs for new ministers. Officials would be told to write the new law at once.
In my view, who is first matters too. Starting with care and support workers points to the group linked to old pay deals and claims that were stopped. That is where Labour would start, and where others will ask about cost.
The broader context here is how it was sold and what is still missing. A full hall on a weeknight in Spreydon is plain face-to-face politics. It tries ideas with supporters before hard questions in Wellington. A repeal still needs a new law, and new deals need money and a clear claims process.
