NZ Union Strikes and Cuts June 2025
Read on for a summary of ER events.
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29 May
Waka Kotahi has proposed cutting 18 out of 110 admin and support roles, with 85% of those affected being women. The PSA warns this move, part of broader government cuts, will strain internal systems and force frontline staff to absorb additional admin duties. The cuts follow similar reductions at DOC and the scrapping of 33 public sector pay equity claims.
Fred A – More job cuts! Majority seem to affect women. All in the name of the govt. cost cutting and austerity agenda.
4 June
Nurses have rejected Health NZ’s latest offer, citing a lack of commitment to safe staffing ratios and inadequate pay increases. Stop-work meetings are being held this week to determine next steps, with strike action on the table. Wellington Hospital delegate Hilary Gardner said the offer amounted to a pay cut and failed to address health and safety concerns. Health NZ maintains the offer is fair and fiscally responsible and is urging nurses to return to the bargaining table.
Fred A – the exodus of NZ nurses heading across the ditch and further afield will only increase safe staffing issue.
18 June
Over 200 senior doctors and dentists in Northland have begun a 24-hour strike, citing an inadequate pay offer from Health New Zealand. The ASMS union is seeking a 12% pay rise, while HNZ has proposed a three-year deal averaging less than 1% annually. The strike includes a mass walkout from Whangārei Hospital and pickets outside Kaitaia Hospital. Elective surgeries are cancelled, but life-preserving services will be maintained. ASMS says current offers fall far short of inflation and risk deepening the region’s staffing crisis.
Fred A – the double-digit gap between the negotiating parties tells the story. Health NZ & Govt seem to have very different priorities to those of the health staff in Northland. Difficult to see a realistic resolution.
Around 50 theatre nurses and healthcare assistants at Whangārei Hospital are striking in rotating four-hour blocks over low pay and burnout. NZNO says Health NZ’s latest offer—1% this year and 1% next year—fails to match living costs. Nurses report chronic understaffing, delayed surgeries, and increasing patient acuity. Health NZ says life-preserving services will continue and claims vacancy rates are under 2%. The union says the offer isn’t enough to retain or attract experienced staff amid rising pressure on the health system.
About 185 Rail and Maritime Transport Union (RMTU) members at Napier Port have begun industrial action in a bid for better pay. The disruption started Friday and has already affected operations, including preventing a fuel tanker from berthing over the weekend. Negotiations between the union and the port are ongoing as workers push for improved wages and conditions.
Fred A – Ha another pay dispute – and it’s not teachers or health workers. Port workers are also feeling the pinch with the overall cost of living still on the increase.
The Department of Internal Affairs has announced 46 additional job cuts as part of efforts to meet government savings targets. The PSA warns this will overload remaining staff and compromise public safety, citing concerns such as the merging of key roles related to digital extremism and reduced support for senior managers. An earlier 69 fixed-term roles were also not renewed, and further changes may see 14 more roles lost. The union says these cuts disproportionately affect women and weaken essential public services.
Fred A – More job cuts, more unemployment and affecting many women. And we were hopeful that the economy would turn positive in 2025. It seems the only thing heading upwards is unemployment and inflation.
26 June
The government has passed the Employment Relations (Pay Deductions for Partial Strikes) Amendment Bill, allowing employers to dock pay during partial strikes — such as working to rule or refusing extra duties. The change rolls back a 2019 reform and lets employers deduct a proportion of wages or a flat 10%. Minister Brooke van Velden says it ensures fairness and reduces public disruption. Unions warn it could discourage teachers from volunteering for extracurriculars and highlight how much workplaces rely on unpaid goodwill.
Fred A – lawyers are already salivating. The legal debate will kick off again “what’s core/regular work and what constitutes extra duties”
School support staff represented by NZEI have rejected a Ministry of Education offer that would see the lowest-paid staff get a 4% pay rise over three years — far short of the 10% increase they’re seeking.
Disclaimer: Fred A’s comments are solely his personal opinion and should not be viewed as factual or as an authoritative commentary in regard to any published article, individual and organisation.
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Image Credit : Photo: RNZ/ Victor Waters
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