New Zealand's Mega Strike

Believe it or not New Zealand was once known as  a “land without strikes” nowadays though that isn’t so much the case. The picket lines are growing and this week marks what is likely to be the largest single day protest by works on record. Doctors are now joining these picket lines along with teachers, nurses and other healthcare workers bringing the total number of those striking to around 100,000. The “mega-strike” as it has been dubbed, comes amid a year marked by 22 official work stoppages and numerous rolling or unreported actions that have caused disruptions in class rooms and hospital wards across the country. 

Earlier this year saw public servants and lab workers holding stop-work meetings due to stalled pay negotiations. By May 5000 senior doctors had also chosen to stop work and the following month July saw an estimated 36,000 nurses, midwives and healthcare workers strike for 24 hours. Then in August secondary teachers took up the call and walked away from their classrooms. Last month doctors then joined dentists and Uber drivers in a nationwide protest, impacting elective surgeries, causing parents to scramble for childcare and leaving commuters who usually used the Uber service to find other modes of transport. 

Unions, including the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO), the Post Primary Teachers Association (PPTA), and the Public Services Association (PSA), have laid out some clear demands: safer staffing levels, better pay and conditions as well as greater respect for their roles. The NZNO are striking over what they say are patient concerns and unsafe staffing. The PPTA has voted to take action after pay talks with the government have stalled yet again. And the PSA members including critical IT workers emphasised the need for proper funding for the system and means to prevent staff burnout. 

Issues around pay are not just limited to the public sector, with Resene workers recently taking to strike action for a living wage after rejecting what they called an insulting offer. Firefighters have also joined the fray recently with their own one-hour strike held on the 17th of October due to stalled negotiations with Fire and Emergency NZ. 

Thus far the government's responses have been pointed with Luxon blaming unions for the uptick in action by workers with accusations of “prioritising politics over its priorities”. Meanwhile the health minister Simeon Brown has taken a harder stance by claiming that doctors have crossed an “ethical line” with the mega strike and that the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS) “walks away from patients” by refusing binding arbitration. For teachers, Education minister Erica Stanford has condemned the PPTA’s actions as being “disruptive”, calling for a return to “constructive dialogue and a realistic settlement”.   

With a wave of protests looming this week,  it remains to be seen whether the impact will be on the labour landscape and if breakthroughs will be reached or if the divides will remain. It’s important to know that as a worker your right to strike is written in the Employment Relations Act 2000, however there are limits. If you are part of a union you can strike during collective bargaining talks, provided that notice is given and the appropriate procedures are followed. Sympathy strikes, where one group strikes in support of another (e.g bus drivers striking as solidarity to teachers) is not permitted. Essential service workers like police and certain roles within healthcare have stricter guidelines, often requiring them to maintain minimum service levels to ensure public safety. Public servants and private sector workers, like the Resene or Uber workers,  can only strike within their own bargaining framework.