Prime Minister urged to resolve impasse in essential workers’ bargaining

Unions representing workers from essential health, education and public services have written to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to urge him to resolve impasses with their respective collective bargaining.

The letter was sent by unions representing teachers, doctors, firefighters, nurses, midwives, health care assistants, principals, education support and field staff, allied health workers, home support workers, and 111 emergency dispatchers.

Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa NZNO Chief Executive Paul Goulter says while there are issues specific to each sector, there are commonalities and a concerning common approach to bargaining from the Coalition Government.

“For this reason, we believe it is appropriate for Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to step in and meet with workforce representatives to explore ways forward and settlement options,” Paul Goulter says.

More than 100,000 essential workers held strikes throughout the country last month to call on the Coalition Government to properly fund their vital public services after ongoing deadlocks in their separate negotiations.