A trio of senior female National MPs have taken aim at the Prime Minister for moving to scrap National's Pay Equity Bill on the first sitting day of Parliament.
Opposition National MPs, Nikki Kaye, Amy Adams and Judith Collins have all openly criticised Jacinda Ardern's decision to drop the pay equity legislation that was introduced by the National Government in July this year.
National education spokesperson Nikki Kaye emphasised it was particularly disappointing to have the gender pay equity legislation dropped by a new female Prime Minister.
"I think it is a very sad day that one of the first actions of our woman Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is to remove this piece of legislation from the motion that we have before us," Ms Kaye said today in Parliament.
"And there have been comments made regarding the lack of females in the executive and I just think we should reflect on that."
National transport spokesperson Amy Adams was also highly critical of the Labour-led Government's decision to completely scrap their pay equity legislation - rather than it being amended.
"Nothing in the speech from the throne talked about how they would replace it, nothing sent any signal to the women of New Zealand about why throwing them back into the uncertainties of the 1972 legislation is a good thing," Ms Adams said.
"The government needs to tell the people of New Zealand and the leader of the house needs to address why this piece of legislation is being wiped."
The Employment (Pay Equity and Equal Pay) Bill which was introduced to Parliament on July 26, 2017, aimed to ensure female dominated jobs are remunerated correctly.
On the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment website it says the bill is designed to: "Address the pay imbalance created by systemic and historic sex-based undervaluation.
"The Bill provides a process and principles to guide employers and employees in making, assessing and resolving pay equity claims in bargaining."
Prior to the election, the Labour Party said National's pay equity legislation would actually make it harder for women to achieve equal pay settlements such as the $2 billion TerraNova settlement for low paid health care workers.
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