BusinessNZ has criticised a "unilateral" move by the Government to allow for back pay in pay equity claims.

Earlier, government ministers contradicted each other over the inclusion of a clause in a new pay equity bill that could provide workers with up to six years' back pay.

Workers in female-dominated professions would find it easier to claim fair pay under the Equal Pay Amendment Bill that has been introduced to Parliament on the 125th anniversary of women getting the vote, the Government has promised.

TOM PULLAR-STRECKER/STUFF The Government unveiled its pay equity bill to an enthusiastic crowd celebrating the 125th anniversary of women's suffrage outside Parliament.

Courts could back date pay equity claims under the legislation, though officials said that would "in general" only be to the time when a claim was first raised.

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BusinessNZ said in a statement that it backed the recommendations of the Joint Pay Equity Working Group convened by both the previous and current governments.

But the Government had acted unilaterally and gone further than the working group had recommended by allowing the Employment Relations Authority and courts to award back pay, the business body said.

"Back pay was not agreed to by the working group, whose members had agreed that this should be a matter for negotiation between employers and employees," it said.

CAMERON BURNELL/STUFF Acting Minister for Women Eugenie Sage says the Equal Pay Amendment Bill is the "next step to address historic inequalities in pay for women".

It warned back pay could "raise affordability and sustainability issues" for some businesses and result in more litigation.

Acting Minister for Women Eugenie Sage said the working group had adequately canvassed the issue of back pay.

But Workplace Relations Minister Iain Lees-Galloway corrected her, saying the Government had deliberately not asked the working group about the issue, acknowledging it was controversial.

"We wanted the working group to focus on the matters that they could come to consensus on. It is then over to the Government to make decisions about the slightly trickier issues."

"It is called showing leadership," he later added.

ROB STOCK/STUFF 125 years on from women's suffrage, pay equity is at the sharp end of the gender debate.

The possibility of back pay gave parties the "clear incentive to get on with the job and to deal with pay equity claims" without dragging them out, he said.

Lees-Galloway said BusinessNZ knew back pay was a "live issue" and accused the business body of "playing silly buggers".

The right to back pay for pay equity claims already existed as a result of a court decision that pay equity claims were covered by the Equal Pay Act, and would be subject to "far greater limitations" under the new law, he said.

When considering back pay, courts would need to consider a range of matters including employers' ability to pay, he said.

The pay equity bill was warmly welcomed by people celebrating the 125th anniversary of women getting the vote, on the lawns outside Parliament.

Lees-Galloway said the bill implemented all the recommendations of the working group, but "without the hurdles it had planned" that made raising claims too difficult.

ALDEN WILLIAMS/STUFF Pay equity rules differ from "equal pay" laws as they can apply to "different" work that is deemed of equal value.

Sage said the legislation would provide a simple and accessible way for workers to make claims within the country's existing bargaining framework.

"Discrimination has led to lower pay for many female-dominated industries, despite having similar working conditions and skill requirements to comparable male-dominated occupations.

"We must continue to close the gender pay gap and this bill is one piece of the puzzle to achieve that," she said.

The Government has defined "pay equity" as requiring women and men receive the same pay for doing jobs that are different "but of equal value".

Officials said the legislation would "lower the bar" for making pay equity claims.

Employees in a female-dominated workforce could raise a claim with an employer, or group of employers.

If employers did not agree to negotiations within 65 days, or talks later reached an impasse, workers could take the claim to mediation and then if necessary to the Employment Relations Authority or the Employment Court.

The Government approved a $173 million deal to provide 5000 mental health and addiction workers pay equity in June.

That followed in the wake of a settlement worth $2 billion over five years agreed last year between aged care workers and the previous Government.

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