‘Workers have had a gutsful’ of low wages
Many workers across New Zealand have had a gutsful, which is why so many went on strike in the past two years, a Southland union organiser says.
Figures released by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment show the number of work stoppages (strikes initiated by unions and lockouts initiated by employers) in the past two years was higher than in any of the previous 14 years.
In the first six months of 2019, there were 51 work stoppages involving 47,255 employees; and in 2018 there were 143 work stoppages involving 11,109 employees.
However, the Otago Southland Employers Association says the figures are skewed because of the large-scale public sector industrial action by the likes of junior doctors, teachers and nurses in the past two years.
And the Government has warned the figures are not reliable because there is no penalty for not reporting industrial action, despite it being mandatory.
E tu Southland union organiser Anna Huffstutler said workers resorted to strike action when they had not got anywhere in negotiations, had run out of options and had had a gutsful.
During the past decade wage rates in many workplaces had not kept up with the cost of living, she said.
Of the many strikes, those in the public sector involving teachers, nurses and junior doctors were among the most high profile.
The junior doctors and teachers both went on multiple strikes before resolving their disputes.
Otago Southland Employers Association president Andrew Leys agreed the wages of a number of employees across the country would have struggled to keep up with inflation.
But he said statistics showed the majority of New Zealanders benefited with wage increases over and above inflation and New Zealand was statistically well represented in comparison with other OECD countries, particularly during the past five to six years.
Invercargill’s Donovan Primary School principal and NZEI chairman of the principals council, Peter Hopwood, said he did not believe teachers would have settled their dispute with the Government without the strike action.
The strikes enabled the teachers to settle their pay dispute but it also shone a light on the workloads teachers were facing, he said.
‘‘The strikes needed to happen because they brought everyone together and highlighted what the main issues were.’’
However, negotiations were continuing to resolve ongoing workload issues, he said.
Southland Hospital Resident Doctors’ Association union delegate Mike Peebles also believed the junior doctors would not have settled without multiple strikes.
The final outcome was that junior doctors would not have to do ‘‘exhaustive hours’’ so patients would benefit, he said.
Industrial Relations Minister Iain Lees-Galloway said New Zealand had a strong economy and the ‘‘new Government’’ was committed to ensuring workers shared in economic growth.
‘‘Unemployment is low, skills are in high demand, and it is often the case that strike activity increases in these periods as people feel they have more job security.’’