Massive strike in New Zealand as 100,000 demand better pay and conditions

More than 100,000 New Zealand teachers, nurses, doctors, firefighters and support staff went on strike Thursday, demanding higher pay and better funding for public services, a clear sign of dissatisfaction with centre-right government.

Workers marched with placards and banners in towns across New Zealand, chanting and listening to speeches. Protests in Wellington and Christchurch had to be cancelled because of dangerous weather conditions. 

In a joint statement last week, the unions billed the strike as the largest in decades with more than 100,000 public servants taking part. 

Middlemore Hospital emergency doctor and Association of Salaried Medical Specialists Vice President Sylvia Boys told the crowd at Aotea Square in Auckland the government had been elected on promises to reduce the cost of living while maintaining frontline services and it was “fair to say these are the issues on which they are failing dismally.”

“The cost of living has worsened, and in health and education we have seen cuts across the sector. We are losing more talent than ever before,” she added in her speech, which was published on Facebook by the ASMS union.

The government has disregarded the protests as a union-orchestrated political stunt, even though the protests emphasize growing public frustration over the administration's direction.

Opinion polls suggest declining approval for the ruling coalition, but the opposition has not yet pulled ahead.  

Since coming to power in 2023, the conservative government has lowered new public spending in its attempts to return the government's accounts to surplus. They said the cuts would mainly be in the back office operations and would keep interest rates low, while ensuring New Zealand keeps its reputation of being a good place to invest. 

The economy has faltered, shrinking in three of the past five quarters, while record numbers of New Zealanders continue to leave the country. Inflation has eased from its peak but has edged up again in recent months.

Public Service Minister Judith Collins said in a statement on Wednesday that the proposed strike was unfair, unproductive and unnecessary.

“It is a stunt targeting the Government but the people paying the price are the thousands of patients who have had appointments and surgeries cancelled, and the hundreds of thousands of kids who will miss another day at school,” she said.

The government said that it was ready to negotiate.

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