More than 4000 IRD and MBIE public servants to take strike action next month

June 25, 2018
Strike (file picture).

More than 4,000 public servants at Inland Revenue and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment will strike next month.

Those taking strike action are Public Service Association members who will hold two two-hour stoppages on 9 July and 23 July over concerns about a lack of a "cost of living pay increase" and heavy workloads.

Strike notices are being issued to both employers.

"Our members are very reluctant to take this step, but they feel they have no choice - and the level of support in the vote shows the level of frustration," PSA National Secretary Glenn Barclay says.

"MBIE is the agency which advises New Zealand businesses on how to conduct their industrial relations, and we expect better of them.

"Spending millions on contractors while denying our members a cost of living pay increase is poor practice, and it’s not in the spirit of the new Government’s expectations for the public sector."

PSA members at Inland Revenue have not taken industrial action in 22 years, and PSA National Secretary Erin Polaczuk says this shows they are at the end of their tether.

"Our members take their jobs very seriously and they’re trying desperately to keep the system on track while IR presses ahead with its Business Transformation project which will see 1 in 3 staff let go by 2021.

"To give just one example - IR’s system is unable to process the Best Start tax credit, which should give lower income families an extra $60 a week for each child.

"It starts on 1 July, and members are told they will have to process this manually, drastically increasing their workload.

"To have all this happening while the employer refuses to consider a modest across-the-board pay increase is deeply upsetting to our members."
 

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