2. Interpretation---In this Act, unless the context otherwise
 requires,---
     ``Agreement'' has the meaning given to that term by section 2 of the
         Labour Relations Act 1987:
     ``Arbitration Commission'' means the Arbitration Commission
         established under the Labour Relations Act 1987 and constituted
         as set out in section 61 of this Act:
     ``Award'' has the meaning given to that term by section 2 of the
         Labour Relations Act 1987:
     ``Commissioner'' means the Employment Equity Commissioner appointed
         under section 5 of this Act:
     ``Coverage'', in relation to any union, means the membership
         coverage of that union:
     ``Deputy Commissioner'' means the Deputy Employment Equity
         Commissioner appointed under section 6 of this Act:
     ``Designated group'' means---
           (a) Any group of women; or
           (b) Any group of Maori; or
           (c) Any group of Pacific Island People; or
           (d) Any group of workers who have physical or mental
         disabilities; or
           (e) Any group of workers designated by the Commissioner for
         the purposes of this definition:
     ``Employer'' has the meaning given to that term by section 2 of the
         Labour Relations Act 1987:
     ``Employers organisation'' means a group of employers with related
         business interests; and includes an employers organisation
         registered under the Labour Relations Act 1987:
     ``Employment equity'' means the elimination from all forms of paid
         employment of---
           (a) Inequality of opportunity for designated groups; and
           (b) Inequality of remuneration for women:
     ``Equal employment opportunities programme'' means a programme that
         is aimed at the identification and elimination of all aspects of
         policies, procedures, and other institutional barriers that
         cause or perpetuate, or tend to cause or perpetuate, inequality
         of opportunity in respect of the employment of any designated
         group of persons:
     ``Female occupation'' means an occupation in which 60 percent or
         more of the workers are female:
     ``Male occupation'' means an occupation in which 60 percent or more
         of the workers are male:
     ``Maori'' means a person of the Maori race of New Zealand; and
         includes any descendant of such a person:
     ``Opportunity'' includes an opportunity to be employed on merit in
         any position or occupation in which employment is available:
     ``Pacific Island People'' means Polynesian, Melanesian, or
         Micronesian people who are living in New Zealand and who are
         native of any island of the Pacific Ocean (other than New
         Zealand); and includes their descendants:
     ``Partnership'' has the meaning given to that term by sections 4 and
         5 of the Partnership Act 1908:
     ``Pay equity assessment'' means a gender neutral assessment made by
         the Commissioner in respect of a female occupation specified in
         that assessment:
     ``Pay equity claim'' means a claim---
           (a) Made under section 56 of this Act; and
           (b) Seeking, following the making of a pay equity assessment,
         the incorporation into an award or an agreement of a schedule of
         supplementary pay equity payments:
     ``Region'' means---
           (a) Each of the metropolitan areas of Auckland, Hamilton,
         Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin; and
           (b) The whole of New Zealand excluding the metropolitan areas
         referred to in paragraph (a) of this definition:
     ``Remuneration''---
           (a) Includes---
                (i) Salary, wages, and other payments whether in the form
                  of bonuses or otherwise in return for services; and
                (ii) Benefits and other emoluments (whether in money or
                  not) in return for services; but
           (b) Does not include entitlement to maternity or parental
         leave:
     ``Subsequent'', in relation to an award or agreement, has the
         meaning given to that term by subsections (2) and (3) of section
         2 of the Labour Relations Act 1987:
     ``Subsidiary'' has the meaning given to that term by section 158 of
         the Companies Act 1955:
     ``Union'' means a union registered under the Labour Relations Act
         1987:
     ``Worker'' has the meaning given to that term by section 2 of the
         Labour Relations Act 1987.