Nearly 10,000 New Zealand public servants set to strike on 9 September over pay and collective agreements

Almost 10,000 public servants across New Zealand are expected to take industrial action on Wednesday, 9 September, as bargaining disputes over pay and collective agreements continue across several major government agencies.

Wellington, 8 September 2026: Thousands of workers at the Ministry of Social Development, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, Department of Internal Affairs and other public agencies are preparing to strike on Wednesday in one of the larger coordinated public-sector industrial actions this year.

The Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi says the workers are seeking collective agreements that prevent their wages falling further behind increases in the cost of living.

The industrial action will involve employees from the Ministry of Social Development, or MSD; the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, or MBIE; the Department of Internal Affairs, or DIA; the National Emergency Management Agency, or NEMA; and the Ministry for Ethnic Communities.

Different groups will stop work for different periods during Wednesday afternoon, while pickets and rallies are planned across the country.

More than 5,000 MSD workers to strike

The largest group taking part will be more than 5,000 employees at the Ministry of Social Development.

They are expected to strike between 1pm and 3pm.

The workers covered by the bargaining perform a wide range of services, including income, housing and employment support.

They also process hardship grants, StudyLink loans and pension payments, provide policy advice on the welfare system, and work with businesses on recruitment and training pathways.

The PSA says the dispute centres on pay and conditions being negotiated as part of a collective agreement.

Around 2,700 MBIE workers joining action

Approximately 2,700 MBIE employees are expected to strike between 1pm and 5.30pm.

The group includes immigration and visa officers as well as employees working across border operations, economic and business policy, regional investment, science and innovation funding, building regulation, energy and consumer standards.

According to the PSA, immigration officers make up the largest group involved in the MBIE bargaining.

The union says most immigration officers earn around $70,000 a year.

DIA, NEMA and Ministry for Ethnic Communities workers also striking

More than 1,300 employees across the Department of Internal Affairs, National Emergency Management Agency and Ministry for Ethnic Communities are due to strike between 1pm and 6pm.

The workers perform a broad range of public functions.

DIA employees involved include staff responsible for processing passports and records relating to births, deaths, marriages and citizenship.

The group also includes National Library and Archives staff, gambling and anti-money laundering regulators, and employees working in areas including digital safety, child exploitation prevention and violent extremism prevention.

Community operations and emergency management workers are also among those participating.

Union says pay has not kept pace with cost of living

PSA National Secretary Duane Leo said employees were seeking increases that reflected rising living costs.

“These public servants are seeking an increase that keeps pace with the cost of living so their wages are not going backwards,” Leo said.

The PSA says workers have rejected employer offers that it considers significantly below what is needed to maintain the real value of their wages.

Leo also called on the Government to help bring the disputes to a resolution.

“All these public servants want are fair deals for themselves and their families. That’s what these strikes are for, and we haven’t ruled out further industrial action if employers don’t bring that to the table,” he said.

The comments represent the PSA’s position in the ongoing bargaining disputes.

Pickets planned across New Zealand

Workers are expected to gather at rallies and pickets from Northland through to Dunedin.

In Auckland CBD, a gathering is planned at Te Komititanga Square outside Waitematā Station, formerly Britomart, from 1.30pm to 2.15pm.

Separate Auckland gatherings are planned in Henderson and Manukau during the same period.

In Wellington, workers are expected to gather at the Wellington Cenotaph at 1 Bowen Street between 1.30pm and 2.15pm.

A wet-weather alternative has been arranged at St Paul’s Cathedral.

In Christchurch, a rally is planned at the Bridge of Remembrance between 1.30pm and 2.30pm.

In Dunedin, MSD, MBIE and DIA workers are due to gather at Exchange Square between 1.30pm and 2.15pm.

Other gatherings are planned in Whangārei, Mount Maunganui, Hamilton, Ōpōtiki, Rotorua, Gisborne, Hastings, Napier, Palmerston North, Porirua, Lower Hutt and Nelson.

Auckland strike locations

Auckland will have three separate gathering points.

Workers in the CBD will meet at Te Komititanga Square.

In Henderson, the planned location is Rotary Park near the Corban Estate and the Swanson Road, Great North Road and Lincoln Road intersection.

In Manukau, workers are due to gather at Manukau Plaza at the corner of Osterley Way and Putney Way.

Each of the Auckland gatherings is scheduled from 1.30pm to 2.15pm.

Industrial action follows earlier stop-work meetings

Wednesday’s strike follows earlier industrial action and stop-work meetings involving the same groups of workers.

The PSA previously announced on 1 September that approximately 10,000 public servants would strike on 9 September.

More than 5,000 MSD workers have already held stop-work meetings during bargaining.

Thousands of MBIE workers have also taken part in stop-work meetings over their pay dispute.

PSA members at DIA previously voted for strike action after the union argued that their pay was falling behind the cost of living.

Could there be further strikes?

The PSA has made clear that Wednesday’s action may not be the end of the dispute.

The union says further industrial action has not been ruled out if negotiations with employers fail to produce agreements acceptable to its members.

Exactly what happens after Wednesday will depend on negotiations between the affected agencies and their employees.

The advisory does not provide details of the latest employer offers for each agency, nor does it set out the Government or individual agencies’ responses to the PSA’s latest claims.

Those positions will therefore be important in assessing how close the parties are to resolving the disputes.

What New Zealanders need to know

The strikes will take place primarily during Wednesday afternoon, with different agencies stopping work for different lengths of time.

MSD employees are scheduled to strike from 1pm to 3pm.

MBIE employees are due to strike from 1pm until 5.30pm.

Workers at DIA, NEMA and the Ministry for Ethnic Communities are scheduled to strike from 1pm until 6pm.

The employees involved work across services including immigration, income support, pensions, StudyLink, passports, citizenship, government records, emergency management, regulation and policy.

The PSA advisory does not specify exactly what operational impact the strike will have on individual public services or offices.

People planning to use affected government services on Wednesday may therefore want to check directly with the relevant agency for any service updates.

Source: Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi advisory, reviewed by Webfit News on 8 September 2026.