Govt staff strike for better pay
Noisy protests were held around the country yesterday afternoon by unionised members at Inland Revenue and Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) in support of better pay provisions.
Up to 4000 public servants from both departments walked off the job for two hours yesterday from 1pm.
In central Auckland, about 200 protesters gathered at the intersection of Queen and Victoria streets, before moving on to Freyberg Place for a rally.
Janice Paoho, organiser for the Auckland MBIE workers, said members had gained confidence from recent strike action by nurses.
‘‘We’re just frustrated, really. We have been trying to negotiate since November for our members to get across-the-board pay increases. What they’re getting paid is way below the market rate.’’
In Wellington, hundreds of members gathered in Midland Park and marched to IRD’s headquarters in the Asteron building, before walking back to MBIE’s offices on Stout St.
As a brass band called Brass Razoo played, PSA secretary Glenn Barclay told the crowd that public sector workers had only seen a 9 per cent increase in wages over the last 10 years, while the private sector had seen their wages rise 14 per cent.
An MBIE policy staff member, Christine – who asked not to be identified by her last name – said people were frustrated.
‘‘Unless workers combine and actually show they have power together there’s not a lot of incentive for the employer to moderate wages . . . And there’s consider- able room for the employer move.’’
She said her younger colleagues who were generally lower paid were especially affected. There was a general view that ‘‘if you don’t like it, well then you leave’’, she said.
‘‘The employer has a responsibility to support them to progress and develop in specific areas and they’re neglecting them.’’
Council of Trade Unions president Richard Wagstaff called MBIE and IRD ‘‘slow on the uptake’’.
‘‘They don’t seem to realise things have changed and they’re operating an antiquated employment relations approach, and an antiquated approach to bargaining that doesn’t belong here anymore.’’
About half of Inland Revenue’s (IR) staff were involved in the strike, prompting the department to ask customers for patience and only to call if their need was urgent.
In a message to staff, It said it was closing its ‘‘front of house’’ services at its offices in Gisborne, Rotorua, New Plymouth, Greymouth, Timaru and Invercargill for the duration of the strike.
If negotiations fail again, a second strike is planned for July 23.
The strike affected workers in Wellington, Auckland and Christchurch, but also Whangarei, Hamilton, Tauranga, Dunedin, Palmerston North, Invercargill, Nelson and Timaru.
While some joined organised rallies, others decided to do volunteer work during the period of industrial action.
Nelson, Timaru, and Invercargill employees opted to do a beach cleanup, work at the local Hospice shop and Southland Hospital’s Ronald McDonald to House respectively.
In Christchurch about 200 workers from Inland Revenue and the Ministry of Business Employment and Innovation marched through central city streets.
Kerry Davies, national assistant secretary of the PSA, said about one quarter of people employed in the ministries were paid less than $48,000.
He said it appeared that the chief executives of the state organisations were running a political line of their own rather than Government policy. ‘‘The managers want to bring in performance pay rather than recognising people’s skills and experience. It seems ideological.’’
A woman, who declined to be named, said she had a new job after ‘‘seven months of stressful hell’’ when Inland Revenue staff were required to reapply for jobs.
Many of the new jobs were at pay rates less than previously, sometimes 15 per cent to 20 per cent less, she said. She had been at Inland Revenue for 12 years. She was glad of a new job but was sad not to be working with old mates. ‘‘It’s less about the financials than mana,’’ she said.
Another PSA organiser, John Stace, said people were feeling a little more confident that they had a right to speak out and be heard. ‘‘It’s not about fat cat salary stuff. For many of the people marching here today it’s the first time they’ve ever done something like this,’’ Stace said.
MBIE general manager of human resources Richard Griffiths said the ministry remained ‘‘committed to continuing constructive discussions with the PSA and reaching an agreement that was acceptable to both parties at the earliest possible opportunity’’.