Massive Strike in New Zealand as Over 100,000 Demand Better Pay and Conditions

More than 100,000 teachers, nurses, doctors, firefighters, and support staff across New Zealand staged a nationwide strike on Thursday, demanding higher pay and increased funding for public services in one of the country’s largest labor actions in decades.

Public sector workers marched in towns and cities with placards and banners, chanting and listening to speeches that condemned the government’s austerity policies. Protests in Wellington and Christchurch were canceled due to severe weather conditions.

In a joint statement last week, unions described the walkout as the biggest coordinated strike in decades.

Speaking at Auckland’s Aotea Square, Middlemore Hospital emergency doctor and Association of Salaried Medical Specialists Vice President Sylvia Boys said the government had “failed dismally” to meet its promises to lower the cost of living while maintaining frontline services.

“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 said, according to a speech published by the ASMS union.

The center-right government dismissed the strike as a politically motivated stunt orchestrated by unions. Public Service Minister Judith Collins called the action “unfair, unproductive and unnecessary,” saying it had disrupted surgeries, medical appointments, and schooling for thousands.

“It is a stunt targeting the government, but the people paying the price are patients and children,” Collins said in a statement. She added that the government remained open to negotiations.

Since taking office in 2023, the conservative coalition has cut new public spending to restore budget surpluses, arguing that fiscal restraint will help keep interest rates low and bolster investor confidence.

However, the economy has contracted in three of the past five quarters, and emigration is at historic highs. Inflation, while down from its peak, has risen again in recent months.

Recent polls show declining support for the ruling coalition amid growing public dissatisfaction, though the opposition has yet to gain a decisive lead.