Most Kiwis support these causes because of the right to strike – but more so due to our strong sense of fairness that is baked into the collective national psyche.
However, there can be no doubt that support for some of these professions is slipping.
It is correct to think that our health system is sick and needs fixing and maybe doctors and nurses do deserve a bit more in their back pocket for the work they do. But many today will also think, “where is the fairness that my medical appointment is postponed due to this strike?”
New Zealand Council of Trade Unions president Richard Wagstaff has claimed there is a centralised government strategy to suppress wages below inflation. He said it was “quite infuriating” after this Government promised to address the cost-of-living crisis.
But in this prolonged recessionary period, union members are not the only ones doing it tough. Few people, in any industry, are getting pay rises. Private companies are adopting sinking-lid policies and some sectors are seeing weekly business closures.
The picture, painted by some, of a destitute teacher or nurse struggling week to week while others are striding ahead is simply not accurate.
According to the Ministry of Education, the average salary for all secondary teachers in 2024 was $100,933 and their average starting salary was $78,300.
The average salary for a nurse was also six figures. The union says this is only when you include paid overtime work.
Regardless, it is well above the average wage and many New Zealanders will look at those numbers and think it is well-paid work.
Many private-sector employees are also likely to scoff at the idea of paid overtime, knowing their job includes hundreds of unpaid hours in a year.
Data from Stats NZ, meanwhile, showed workers in mining, manufacturing, electricity and gas supply, rail, water, air and space transport, telecommunications, finance and insurance and computer system design all had median and mean incomes above $100,000.
If the workers at our insurance companies, internet providers or banks walked off the job today, how much public support would there be?
Public Service Minister Judith Collins also released an open letter, published in the Herald on Sunday, suggesting some striking today may have ulterior political motivations.
Collins’ letter was of course political, but it is also hard to see the relevance of the teachers’ union including Palestine as an agenda item for a meeting with the Education Minister.
As we all know, money is hard to come by at the moment. There are many people, working all kinds of jobs and in areas often forgotten in this country, that could desperately use more of it.
So, while the public sector has a right to strike today and will have support to do so, it must also try to keep some perspective.
