MORE than 100,000 nurses, teachers, firefighters and other public sector workers walked off the job across Aotearoa, New Zealand, on Thursday in one of the largest coordinated strikes in the country’s history.
The unprecedented mobilisation, dubbed a ‘mega strike’ by organisers, brought together more than 60,000 school teachers, 40,000 nurses and medical specialists, and around 15,000 public service staff, joined by firefighters, home support workers, and allied health professionals in a show of cross-sector solidarity unseen for decades.
Despite severe weather cancelling rallies in parts of Wellington and the South Island, tens of thousands filled streets in Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin and smaller towns, holding signs and chanting for fair pay, safe staffing levels, and an end to austerity measures.
‘Patients should not have to be harmed, or die, before things improve,’ nurse Becks Kelsey told a rally in Auckland, accusing the government of cutting ‘the threads that hold our communities together’. Teachers echoed the call, warning of an exodus from the profession.
‘People are leaving the country and the careers they love because they have just had enough,’ secondary school teacher Paul Stevens said. ‘Our schools are under strain, and our politicians need to own the political choices that starved public services of what they need to survive.’
Thursday’s action followed months of failed negotiations between the Coalition Government and multiple unions. While each sector has distinct demands, the message was unified: wages have fallen behind inflation, staffing levels are unsafe, and deteriorating conditions are endangering both workers and the public.
Noreen McCallan, a nurse from Hawke’s Bay, said staff shortages had reached a breaking point. ‘We fear for the safety of our patients. They’re suffering longer because we can’t reach them as quickly as we should,’ she said.
Teachers reported parallel crises in education. Liam Rutherford of NZEI Te Riu Roa said the government must move beyond ‘tinkering around the edges’ and make ‘serious investment in education’.
He added: ‘The current offer won’t help us recruit or keep teachers. The pull of Australia is too strong when they’re offering better pay and respect.’
Hospitals have warned of ‘catastrophic failure’ from overcapacity, while schools report unfilled vacancies and growing burnout among staff.
The strike followed years of public sector attrition. Austerity budgets and cancelled pay equity claims have compounded shortages in health and education.
As a result, record numbers of New Zealanders are emigrating, many to Australia, for better wages and working conditions. Opposition parties and unions say these outcomes stem from deliberate political choices to cut spending under the guise of fiscal responsibility.
Dr Julian Vyas, a respiratory paediatrician at Starship Hospital, said the government was ignoring clear warnings from within the system. ‘This strike is about funding the services we all depend on to live healthy lives,’ he said.
Debbie Handisides, an enrolled nurse and union negotiator, described an impossible workload: ‘We’re being asked to care for more and more patients who are increasingly unwell, with fewer and fewer staff. When there aren’t enough nurses, care is delayed and lives are put in danger.’
Virgil Iraia, president of the Public Service Association, said health and public service workers had been left overworked and undervalued. ‘We’re striking for safe staffing and a fair pay offer that isn’t an effective pay cut,’ he said. ‘Overworked and undervalued health workers cannot keep delivering the care patients need and deserve.’
Educators expressed similar frustration. Chris Abercrombie, president of the Post Primary Teachers’ Association Te Wehengarua, said properly funded public education is a cornerstone of a fair society.
‘When public education is valued and resourced, it welcomes all learners and provides them with a safe, supportive environment. The government must ensure trained and qualified teachers in every classroom,’ he said.
The strikes extended beyond health and education. Firefighters staged a one-hour walkout demanding safe staffing levels, proper equipment, and recognition of occupational cancers through the Accident Compensation Corporation. Mike Swanson of the Professional Firefighters Union said: ‘We need safe systems of work — stations, trucks, call centres fully staffed, and gear that protects us. When our job gives us cancer, we want management to stand with us, not against us.’
While public support has remained strong — polling suggests around 65 per cent of New Zealanders back the strike — the government has taken a combative stance. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon dismissed the action as ‘politically motivated’, while Public Service Minister Judith Collins called it a ‘stunt’. In an open letter to citizens, Collins said the strikes were ‘unfair and unwarranted’.
‘To the patients, students, and families affected, the government regrets the impact on you and your children,’ she wrote, adding that the government had already made offers in line with inflation and was acting ‘responsibly’ in managing public finances.
Her remarks, delivered while attending defence and security meetings in Washington, drew sharp criticism.
Abercrombie called her comments ‘disappointing’.
‘No teacher wants to strike — we want to be in the classroom,’ he said. ‘Instead of being productive, the minister is taking side shots from overseas.’
Council of Trade Unions incoming president Sandra Grey accused Collins of ‘trying to drive a wedge between New Zealanders’.
She said public sympathy remained with the workers, not the government. ‘We love our teachers, we love our nurses, we love our health workers, and we know they’re struggling to keep up with their work,’ Grey said.
‘The government keeps interfering in wage negotiations and refuses to recognise that wages have not kept up with inflation. We now have working people living in cars because the cost of living has overtaken their pay. That’s not an Aotearoa anyone wants to live in.’
As the walkouts disrupted schools and hospital services nationwide, public mood leaned towards solidarity rather than frustration.
Protesters emphasised that their fight was not against the public but for it — against policies that had drained vital services of staff and dignity.
Signs reading ‘Save our health system’, ‘Fair pay for fair work’, and ‘Fund our future’ lined the streets from Kaitaia to Invercargill.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins placed blame squarely on the prime minister, saying Luxon’s government had ‘made its priorities clear: handing out massive pay rises to boardroom directors and millions to tobacco companies instead of investing in the services we all rely on’.
He accused the Coalition of being ‘out of touch’ and warned that neglecting essential sectors would deepen inequality and drive more professionals abroad.
As night fell, the sense among workers was not of exhaustion but resolve. Many said this strike would not be the last unless real change followed.
‘We are standing up not just for ourselves but for everyone who depends on public services,’ said Kelsey, the Auckland nurse who had addressed the morning rally. ‘We will keep standing until the government listens.’