MSD public servants reject pay offer, demanding wages keep pace with inflation
More than 5,000 public servants under the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) are holding stop-work meetings on Monday after rejecting an offer from MSD that they claimed did not keep up with the cost of living.
The Public Service Association (PSA) said the closed union meetings will take place in Central Auckland, West Auckland, South Auckland, Hamilton, Palmerston North, Lower Hutt, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin, with a remote meeting for workers in other parts of the country.
Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi, said the meetings aim to determine the workers' next steps to get a new deal from the MSD.
"They have already overwhelmingly rejected a pay offer that did not keep up with cost of living - nowhere near where inflation is sitting at 4.1%," Fitzsimons said.
"While these public servants have to pay more for food, transport, rates, insurance, and more, their employer wants to effectively cut their pay by failing to keep up with the cost of living."
More demands from MSD workers
Unions are also calling on the MSD to provide resources and training, and are opposing the ministry's reintroduction of KPIs and targets for staff.
"The pattern we have seen across the public service is continuing," Fitzsimons said. "Public servants should not have to constantly be asked to do more with less."
The new union deal will cover various roles across MSD, including public servants who provide end-to-end income, housing, and employment support, as well as process hardship grants, StudyLink loans, pension payments, and more.
The public servants covered by the deal also provide policy advice on changes to the welfare system and support businesses with training pathways and recruitment.
Fitzsimons warned that the lack of a fair offer from public sector employers will escalate to industrial action.
"If MSD and other public service employers do not provide fair offers, workers will only get more frustrated and will have to escalate industrial action," she said.
Employees at the Department of Internal Affairs have already agreed to go on strike after holding similar stop-work meetings. Workers at the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment also carried out a similar meeting last month.
The escalating tensions between the government and its public sector workers come amid a recently announced public service overhaul that will axe 8,700 workers by mid-2029 as part of a cost-cutting measure that will reportedly save $2.4 billion.
