NZ Workplace Relations August 2026
Read on for a summary of ER events.
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4 Aug
Retail workers received an average pay rise of just 1 percent to $30.94 per hour according to the 2026 Retail Wages Guide released by Retail NZ, marking a sharp slowdown from the 3.4 percent increase in 2025 and well below the 4.1 percent inflation rate. Retail NZ CEO Carolyn Young said the low wage increases reflect economic headwinds, with retailers managing tight margins and sluggish consumer confidence. The gap between average retail wages and the living wage is narrowing, with retail pay now only $1.99 above the living wage benchmark.
Fred A – it reflects what is happening in the workplace and why there is such discontent. The Gap between inflation and pay rise % is widening. The scene is set for some tough wage bargaining over the next 12 months.
More than 400 scientists, technicians and support workers at the New Zealand Institute of Public Health and Forensic Science struck from 8am to noon against plans to return to performance-based pay and a zero percent cost-of-living increase. The PSA said performance pay does not make workers more effective and can introduce unconscious bias and contribute to gender and ethnic pay gaps. The union noted that getting rid of performance pay had been a hard-won breakthrough for these workers. Workers rallied on picket lines at PHF Science sites in Mt Albert (Auckland), Kenepuru and Wallaceville (Wellington), and Ilam (Christchurch). PHF Science is part of the government’s restructuring of the science sector.
Fred A – Performance based pay as a concept is sound, however it requires a collaborative approach with workers and union.
The Ministry of Social Development is proposing to cut 22 security guard positions at 22 regional Work and Income offices, reducing guards from three to two per site. The PSA and E tū oppose the plan, citing safety concerns for both staff and security guards following the 2014 murders of two Ashburton Work and Income employees. The proposal follows earlier cuts of 20 security guard jobs at 20 other offices in March. MSD said the changes follow safety upgrades and changes to office layout including bringing guards inside offices. Work and Income staff have recorded 14,420 security incidents over the past five years. Consultation was due to end on 12 August.
5 Aug
Stats NZ data shows unemployment has risen to 5.6 percent in the June quarter, the highest in more than a decade, up from 5.3 percent in March. The CTU said the labour market is in crisis with 440,000 people underutilised, up 32,000 in just three months. The North Island unemployment rate reached 6 percent while the South Island sat at 3.7 percent. Unemployment for Māori stands at 10.8 percent and 11.6 percent for Pacific peoples compared to 4.2 percent for New Zealand Europeans. Long-term unemployment has also increased, with 8,000 more people experiencing long-term joblessness than a year earlier.
Fred A – High unemployment, high inflation and low wage increases undermine economic growth and stability. Hence general unease across NZ.
7 Aug
Dozens of NZNO members working for Total Care Health under ACC contracts struck across the North Island calling for better pay. Pickets took place in Hamilton, Auckland and Havelock North. Nurses work up to seven days a week providing care to patients with complex health needs in their homes. The union said Total Care nurses are the lowest-paid community nursing workforce in New Zealand, despite the complexity and responsibility of their roles. Bargaining has been ongoing since October 2025. Total Care Health said it accepted the nurses’ right to strike and values them, but must ensure services remain sustainable within available funding.
Fred A – low pay in a high inflation environment always triggers discontent.
More than 50 senior doctors at the Accident Compensation Corporation took a half-day strike over pay and employment protections. The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists announced three half-day strikes on 7 August (8am-noon), 29 July (1pm-5pm), and scheduled another for later in August. ACC has refused to include personal grievance rights or protections for speaking publicly about patient safety concerns in a new agreement. Negotiations have been ongoing since December 2025. Since 2018, consumer prices have increased 31 percent but pay for ACC medical advisors has risen only 4.2 percent. ACC said it supports staff’s right to take action and will continue negotiating in good faith.
Fred A – senior doctors resort to strike action because of poor pay and patient safety at ACC.
10 Aug
Over 5,000 public servants at the Ministry of Social Development held stop-work meetings across the country after overwhelmingly rejecting a pay offer that did not keep pace with inflation. The PSA said workers are part of a broader bargaining round affecting over 10,000 public servants across MBIE, DIA, Corrections, and MSD, all facing below-inflation pay offers. Workers provide income support, housing assistance, employment support, and process hardship grants and StudyLink loans. The PSA said workers are also bargaining for better service delivery, asking MSD to provide adequate training and resources.
Fred A – MSD workers angry that their pay offer is way below inflation.
Around 285 PSA members working for care provider Nurse Maude struck for a second time after the employer failed to present an acceptable pay offer following a first strike on 31 July. Around 35 additional workers at Nurse Maude’s Care Coordination Centres in Wellington also joined the strike. The union said Nurse Maude continues to propose cutting two days of sick leave (from 12 days to 10) while offering minimal pay increases—2% for Care Managers and 2.5% for admin staff. The PSA said the employer withdrew a previous pay offer, which breaches the duty of good faith, and that no other publicly funded employer is pursuing sick leave cuts in the same manner.
Fred A – Care provides have been offered a below inflation increase and a cut of 2 days of sick leave. Are they happy? Absolutely not, as 2nd round of strike action shows.
12 Aug
Workers First Union and Uber have reached agreement in good faith on a settlement process for over 1,600 driver claims raised over six years, including claims from four drivers who took Uber to the Supreme Court and won. The deal establishes a framework for Uber to make individual financial settlement offers to affected drivers. Once a driver accepts their offer, it will settle their claims on a full and final basis. The union is working with Uber to finalise the administration process, with drivers to receive details in due course. Workers First said this represents progress but remains committed to organising drivers and pushing for repeal of changes to employment law affecting gig workers.
13 Aug
Casino operator SkyCity announced a restructure proposal affecting approximately 200 roles, primarily in its Auckland precinct where it employs around 2,860 staff. The company cited sustained pressure on customers’ discretionary spending driven by the fuel crisis and cost-of-living challenges as the driver for the cuts. SkyCity said it was reviewing its operating model to become “simpler, smarter and more connected.” Consultation with affected staff was scheduled to continue over two weeks. Unite union said profitable companies like SkyCity should maintain employment during challenging economic times, noting that behind every redundancy was a person, household and family budget.
17 Aug
Employment law experts and unions are warning that workers could lose hundreds of dollars per week when taking annual leave after the Employment Leave Act takes effect in 2028. The new system will pay leave at employees’ “lowest rate of pay,” stripping out overtime and allowances that currently boost leave payments. Workers who rely on overtime and regular allowances as part of weekly income could see hundreds of dollars less each year. The PSA estimates more than 200,000 workers will be affected. Supermarket retail workers kept on minimum hour contracts while regularly working extra days are likely to cash leave up rather than take it, according to unions.
Fred A – the PSA is likely to mobilise members around this issue. It’s emotional and viewed as being anti worker.
28 Aug
More than 1,200 support workers across Auckland could lose their jobs after Health NZ decided not to award home and community support contracts to Presbyterian Support Northern (operating Enliven service), Visionwest and Lifewise. The affected workers provide care to around 4,500 older and disabled people across Auckland, Counties Manukau and Waitematā. The PSA is calling on Health NZ to transfer workers to new providers on the same pay, terms and conditions, and said it will not hesitate to take legal action to ensure this occurs. Presbyterian Support Northern said it was shocked and surprised, with the Enliven contract worth $19 million alone.
Fred A – another highly emotive Health NZ proposal which affects thousands of disabled and older people.
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