A historian who has examined New Zealand labour movements says the recent wave of union-led industrial action is being driven by the convergence of high inflation, low unemployment, and pandemic-driven stress.
Victoria University's Jim McAloon told Q+A that people were also increasingly conscious of growing inequality after "a long period of relatively low wage increases" and difficult working conditions amid Covid-19.
"The feeling might be, well, if we don't improve things now, when do we improve them?"
Recently, the likes of firefighters, health workers, and Kawerau Mill staff joined thousands across numerous industries taking strike action.
McAloon said it was too early to say if it represented a trend or a wider shift in the balance of power between employers and employees.
"What will be interesting is how things will look in another year."
He said that was because the past 30 years in the trade union movement had been "unusual".
McAloon said 2012 and 2019 saw spikes in union activity. However, he noted unions themselves were weaker than before the introduction of the Employment Contracts Act of the 1990s. That piece of legislation reduced the legal backing for unions to move to more individualised relationships between workers and employers.
After the 1990s, unions had to undergo "cautious rebuilding", he said.
"Certainly, unions are much less part of the fabric of workplace and society… that doesn't mean they're absent."
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