The Taxpayers’ Union is calling on the Public Service Association to sack its Acting National Secretary after she publicly suggested women, Māori, & Pasifika people are incapable of high-performance and should therefore have pay increases automatically applied.
She was responding to a letter from Public Services Commissioner Brian Roche saying automatic pay rises in the public service were unaffordable and said:
. . . Any move away from a step based pay system to a performance pay or discretionary pay system will lead to discrimination against women, against Māori and Pacifika people, but also it will lead to a poor workplace culture. . .
Back to the TU:
“Suggestions that Maori, Pacifika, and woman are incapable of high performance belongs in the 17th century, not the modern public service,” says Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director Jordan Williams.
“We must all call out racism and sexism when it occurs, especially in the trade union movement. We are disgusted that such stereotypes are being used to suggest performance-based pay rises will see women, Māori, and Pasifika people miss out.”
“At the Taxpayers’ Union, we are baffled that in 2025 anyone would suggest that sex or race would make people less capable. Either Fleur Fitzsimons is a bad egg, or there is something deeply wrong with the culture at the PSA.”
“Fleur Fitzsimons’ comments are plainly demeaning and condescending. If the PSA won’t act, the Government should – by refusing to engage with a failed Labour Party candidate with these extreme views.”
“We must say no to hate, even when it is disguised as concern.”
Not only racist, sexist, demeaning and condescending but patronising too.
It’s also an illustration of why lumping people by race, sex or other immutable characteristics is discriminatory, denying individual agency and ability.
Automatic pay increases aren’t affordable and reward time served rather than ability and achievement.
Only someone both racist and sexist would think that women, Maori and Pacific people might not actually gain from that change.
The statement also proves the problem of automatic pay rises – that they aren’t based on merit or performance but time serving.
If the people the union supports wouldn’t get a pay rise if it wasn’t automatic, they wouldn’t have earned it and wouldn’t deserve it.
Ele Ludemann is a North Otago farmer and journalist, who blogs HERE - where this article was sourced.
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