The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi welcomes the Green Party's commitment to restore pay equity and fund a settlement for around 65,000 care and support workers.
"Care and support workers have waited far too long for their work to be valued properly, and today's announcement from the Greens shows there is a clear path to getting it done," says Melissa Ansell-Bridges, NZCTU Secretary.
"These workers, mostly women, had already proven their work was undervalued. Then the Luxon Government rushed through changes under urgency in 2025 and told them to start all over again, with amendments which made pathways to settlements completely unworkable. That was a betrayal of tens of thousands of workers who keep our families and communities going.
"The Greens' plan to recognise the undervaluation that has already been established, set aside around $1.1 billion a year for a settlement, and legislate if needed is exactly the kind of commitment these workers deserve.
"Care and support workers are the reason many older and disabled New Zealanders can stay in their own homes and live with dignity. It's demanding, skilled work, and it's time their pay recognised this.
"Importantly, the Greens have made a clear commitment to funding and agreeing the final settlement through bargaining with the workers and their unions - E tū, NZNO, and the PSA.
"Pay equity isn't a luxury - it's a right. The Luxon Government chose to balance its books on the backs of low-paid women. Working people will remember which parties stood with them and which parties took their pay equity away," says Ansell-Bridges.
