56. Making of pay equity claim---(1) A pay equity claim---
   (a) May be made by the union party or employer party to negotiations
         for an award or an agreement;
   (b) May be made as part of the claims that create the dispute of
         interest or as part of the claims or counter claims that are
         made during the course of the negotiations.

   (2) A pay equity claim must be a separate identifiable claim within
 the overall negotiations, but in all other respects (and subject to the
 provisions of sections 57 to 68 of this Act (which deal with
 arbitration)) Part VII of the Labour Relations Act 1987 shall apply.

   (3) A pay equity claim must be in the form of proposed supplementary
 pay equity payments that will form a schedule to the proposed award or
 agreement.

   (4) Subject to subsection (5) of this section, nothing in this Act
 prevents any parties from negotiating about pay equity at any time in
 the ordinary course of negotiations, even if there is no relevant pay
 equity assessment.

   (5) The making of a pay equity assessment in respect of a female
 occupation is a prerequisite to the making of a pay equity claim under
 subsection (1) of this section in respect of some or all of the members
 of that female occupation.