More than 5,000 Ministry of Social Development (MSD) staff will hold stop-work meetings across the country today over the Ministry’s approach to collective bargaining.
National Secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi (PSA), Fleur Fitzsimons said MSD workers are meeting to plan their next steps to get a “fair deal” in the bargaining process.
“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%,” she 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.”
The action follows similar recent action by public servants at the Department of Internal Affairs.
There are currently over 10,000 public service workers currently in collective bargaining, with all currently facing pay offers well below inflation, said Ms Fitzsimons.
The bargaining covers roles across MSD, such as public servants who provide end-to-end income, housing, and employment support; process hardship grants, StudyLink loans, pension payments, and more; provide policy advice on changes to the welfare system; and support businesses with training pathways and recruitment.
“These public servants are also bargaining for better service delivery. They are asking MSD to provide adequate resources and training, and to ensure that they can spend enough time with the people they support to meet their individual needs. We oppose MSD reintroducing performance KPIs and targets for staff, which will put immense pressure on workloads that are already at breaking point,” said Ms Fitzsimons.
“The pattern we have seen across the public service is continuing.
“Public servants should not have to constantly be asked to do more with less.
“When we surveyed public servants in May, over half said their agency’s ability to deliver has got worse in the last year. Since then, the Government has confirmed it is only going to make things worse by cutting 8,700 public servants and further decimate public services.
“The Government promised to fix the cost-of-living crisis, but it’s leaving public servants that keep this country running overworked and undervalued. 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.”
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.
