New Zealand's public servants demanding commitments to fair pay
Almost 10,000 public servants from five different agencies will strike on 9 September to demand better pay from the government, according to the Public Service Association (PSA).
Workers from the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the Ministry for Ethnic Communities (MEC), the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment (MBIE), and the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) will be participating in the industrial action.
The strike begins at 1:00 p.m. on 9 September, and will end at 6:00 p.m. for the DIA, NEMA, and MEC. The MBIE strike ends at 5:30 p.m., while the MSD strike will finish at 3:00 p.m.
According to the PSA, the strike will be held across the country, with details to be available once they are confirmed.
It comes after months of bargaining with the government about their collective agreements, with workers calling out "pay offers well below inflation."
"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, PSA national secretary, in a statement.
"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."
The major strike follows the one carried out by public servants at DIA, NEMA, and MEC on 6 July. It also comes after the stop-work meeting held by MBIE workers on 21 July, and by MSD workers on 10 August.
"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," Leo said.
Public servants urged to 'negotiate'
Responding to the announcement, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon urged public servants to "negotiate."
"We've [the Government] got a lot of things to deliver for the New Zealand people, and they should be at work, or they should be around the table negotiating. But that's up to the agencies," Luxon said as quoted by Stuff.
The prime minister added that he did not believe public servants were being underpaid, and that the public service needs to be more efficient, according to the Stuff report.
"One of the things we have to do is simplify the amount of agencies and ministries," he said.
"We need to use a lot more technology. We need to focus a lot more on the public and delivering better quality public services. I think that makes it a very exciting place as a young person to come and work."
The government has announced that it is axing 8,700 jobs by mid-2029 in a massive public service overhaul that aims to save a reported $2.4 billion.
