In one of the largest industrial actions in recent New Zealand history, more than 100,000 public-sector employees, including teachers, nurses and other government-staffed workers, staged a coordinated “mega strike” on Thursday, demanding enhanced pay, improved staffing levels and greater investment in health and education services.
The action brought together more than 60,000 school teachers, about 40,000 nurses and salaried medical specialists, and around 15,000 public service staff. Workers across the country gathered in rallies—despite disruptions caused by extreme weather conditions—carrying placards, chanting slogans and calling on the government to reverse years of under-funding and to treat public-service workers as valued professionals rather than expendable resources.
At one Auckland rally, nurse Becks Kelsey addressed the crowd with a stark warning, saying “Patients should not have to be harmed, or die, before things improve… We demand the government invests in the very fabric of our community, not cut the threads that hold it together.” A secondary-school teacher, Paul Stevens, voiced frustration that many educators are leaving the profession and the country out of sheer exhaustion: “They have just had enough and they don’t feel valued.”
Union representatives say the strike stems from stalled collective-bargaining talks with the coalition government, spanning multiple sectors and demands. While each union has specific concerns relevant to its workforce, the common themes are low pay growth, unsafe staffing levels, insufficient resources, and working conditions that they say are jeopardising the well-being of workers, students and patients alike.
Healthcare providers in New Zealand have reportedly been under increasing pressure for some time. Hospitals have warned of “catastrophic failure” due to over-capacity, lengthy wait times and growing staff shortages. Meanwhile, schools have also been grappling with personnel shortfalls, making it difficult to recruit and retain teachers. At the same time, critics say the government has been cutting funding for public services in a bid to boost economic growth, and has cancelled dozens of pay-equity claims.
Adding to the pressure is the fact that many skilled workers are reportedly leaving New Zealand for better opportunities abroad — particularly in Australia, where salary and staffing conditions are seen as more favourable.
The government, led by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, dismissed the strike as politically motivated. Officials characterised the action as unfair, unnecessary and unproductive. Public Service Minister Judith Collins accused unions of staging a “stunt” and insisted that the government remained “at the table with offers”.
Despite the government’s stance, public sentiment appears to lean in favour of the workers. A national poll indicated that 65 % of respondents backed the strike action, and notably, nearly half of those who normally vote for the governing coalition also supported it. Opposition parties rallied behind the strike. Labour leader Chris Hipkins blamed the government for being out of touch and accused it of favouring corporate interests over core public services. “Luxon is out of touch and making our health and education systems worse,” he said.
The industrial action forced many schools to close temporarily, and health providers to scale back non-essential services. While such disruptions have drawn criticism, striking workers and their union representatives maintain that their grievances are urgent and systemic, not simply about immediate pay rises but about the future viability of New Zealand’s public-service infrastructure.
As the Labour-led government and its union counterparts face a stalemate, the strike marks a critical juncture for public-sector services in New Zealand, raising questions about how the state values its essential workers, how it funds key services like education and healthcare, and whether it can retain talent in an increasingly globalised labour market.
