Source: Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi
Public servants across the country will strike from 1pm on 9 September, sending a clear message to their employers and the Government that they won’t back down in their bargaining for better pay and service delivery.
Almost 10,000 public service workers will go on strike over bargaining for their respective collective agreements, including those working at the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), and the Ministry for Ethnic Communities (MEC); the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE); and the Ministry of Social Development (MSD).
“These public servants are facing pay offers well below inflation while working amid the devastating consequences of the Government’s public service cuts,” said Duane Leo, National Secretary of the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi.
Pickets and rallies will be held around the country. The PSA will make details availaible on its website once they’re confirmed.
The DIA, NEMA, and MEC strike finishes at 6pm, the MBIE strike finishes at 5.30pm, and the MSD strike finishes at 3pm. Public servants at DIA, NEMA, and MEC went previously went on strike on 6 July. Public servants at MBIE held a stop-work meeting on 21 July, while public servants at MSD held one on 10 August.
“Despite months of bargaining for their respective collective agreements, these employers and the Government still refuse to hear concerns about the state of public services,” said Leo.
“These pay offers would send public servants backwards. And these public servants are telling us that their agencies’ ability to deliver is getting worse. We need to see commitments to fair pay and proper resourcing.”
“Tension has been building for months, and now it’s at breaking point: public servants are fed up with a government that overworks and undervalues them.”
Previous industrial action leading up to these strikes
MSD stop-work meeting: Over 5,000 public servants at MSD the latest to hold stop-work meetings amid bargaining for better pay and service delivery
MBIE stop-work meeting: Thousands of MBIE workers hold stop-work meetings over pay dispute
DIA, NEMA, & MEC strike: PSA members at Department of Internal Affairs vote to strike as pay lags behind cost of living
The Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi is Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest trade union, representing and supporting more than 95,000 workers across central government, state-owned enterprises, local councils, health boards and community groups.