Members
of these unions are participating:
- Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi
- New Zealand Nurses Organisation Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaikiaki o Aotearoa
- New Zealand Education Institute Te Riu Roa
- Post Primary Teachers Association Te Wehengarua.
Victoria University emeritus professor and labour law expert Gordon Anderson told The Front Page that strikes have had their place in New Zealand for decades.
“The last massive strike, which went on for a long time, was the 1951 waterfront lockout,” Anderson said.
“We had quite high levels in the mid-1970s, but since then, strike numbers have been relatively low. They went up a bit in the 1980s, but since 1990 [there have been] extremely low levels until the last couple of years.
“The main difference is that the strikes these days tend to be in the public sector, because the unions that used to go on strike don’t really exist anymore.”
Anderson said that it’s only lawful to strike when you are striking in relation to collective bargaining.
“At the moment, it just so happens that several major collective agreements have expired.
“You’ll notice in the current lot, it’s the ASMS [Association of Salaried Medical Specialists] on the doctor’s strike side who are striking, but not the other two doctors’ unions who don’t have a collective agreement up for negotiation at the moment,” he said.
Listen to the full episode to hear more about:
- The difference between strikes today and in history
- How employment laws have evolved
- How political are strikes?
- The importance of a worker’s right to strike.
The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. The podcast is presented by Chelsea Daniels, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in world news and crime/justice reporting who joined NZME in 2016.
You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
