Picketing for pay equity rights

A small but fired-up group gathered by the brown trout statue in Gore last Friday, protesting the Pay Equity Amendment Bill that was rushed through parliament last Wednesday. The men and women held their signs up to oncoming traffic and were met with honks of support, before marching on Southland MP Joseph Mooney’s office.

One protester, who worked in aged care, said her sector was a female-dominated workforce that was hardworking and underpaid. Before the bill, she said workers from her organisation were bargaining for fairer pay. The new legislation had pulled the rug out from under them, she said, and made it harder for them to lodge a claim.