Government agencies assure contingency plans are underway to address disruption
The New Zealand Government is bracing for major disruption as more workers join despread strike action on October 23.
The Public Service Association (PSA) announced on Wednesday that 1,700 PSA members of the Policy, Advisory, Knowledge, and Specialist Workers Collective (PAKS) have voted to strike for four hours on October 23.
The New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) also announced that about 400 nurses and healthcare assistants working for the Department of Corrections will strike for 16 hours on the same day.
These employees add to the 11,500 allied health workers and about 40,000 primary school teachers who previously announced that they will be walking off their jobs on October 23.
Critical health workers to strike
The latest PSA strike announcement covers Health NZ employees who are responsible for IT systems, payroll functions, digital services, communications, among others.
"These critical workers are the engine room of the public health system - workers who ensure nurses, doctors, surgeons and others can provide the quality, timely care patients need," said Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary for the PSA, in a statement.
This is the first time that PSA members of PAKS are taking strike action, following their rejection of Health NZ's 1.5% proposed increase from July 2025 and two per cent increase from July 2026.
"The proposed offer is a joke; it's an effective pay cut when many kaimahi have already accepted new roles at lower pay in the relentless restructures we have experienced for the last 24 months plus," said PSA delegate Jenna Osborne-Taylor in a statement.
Corrections' nurses to strike
Meanwhile, the striking nurses and healthcare assistants from Corrections are doing so due to frustrations over pay and safety during bargaining, according to the NZNO.
"Nurses and health care assistants are frustrated Corrections have refused to address their safety concerns about the overly arduous on-call system," said NZNO Corrections spokesperson Michael Pye in a statement.
"These essential workers also need an improved pay offer that is not a pay cut and reflects the cost-of-living crisis."
Contingency plans in place
Health NZ in a statement lamented the simultaneous strike action on October 23, but assured that contingency plans are in place.
"Should the strike action go ahead we will have contingency plans in place to ensure the continued delivery of health services both in our hospitals and in community settings," a spokesperson from Health NZ told Radio New Zealand.
A spokesperson from Corrections also offered similar assurance, saying plans are underway to ensure the safe and secure operations of prisons while the strike takes place.
"Our staff do a challenging job working with some of the most complex people in New Zealand to keep our communities safe," a Corrections spokesperson said as quoted by RNZ.
"We continue to value and work with our union partners, to ensure our staff feel safe, supported and capable in their work."
