Mental Health, Public Health Nursing & Mental Health Assistants strike 23 October

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This page is for PSA members covered by the PSA Mental Health and Public Health Nursing bargaining – the Auckland Region and the Rest of New Zealand (RONZ) collective bargaining. On this page, you’ll find the latest information about the strike, and FAQs.

I’m covered by the Allied Health collective agreement.

I’m covered by the PAKS Collective Agreement.

I’m covered by the Home Care Support Workers West Coast I Te Tai Poutini District Collective Agreement.

I'm not covered by any of these collectives.

We are striking on Thursday 23 October

You have voted overwhelmingly to reject Health NZ’s latest offer and to fully withdraw your labour in support of your claims for safe staffing levels and better pay and conditions.

The strike will run from 7am on Thursday 23 October to 6.59 on Friday 29 October.

This will tell the employer that we will not accept an effective pay cut, nor failure to address staffing levels, recruitment times, and rostering claw backs. It will also send a powerful message to the Government, whose failure to adequately fund the public health system has a direct bearing on Health NZ’s offer.

We will not be standing alone. On Thursday 23 October, other PSA members, and unions representing nurses and teachers, will strike in support of their own bargaining.

Picket and rally information

See the table below for details of pickets and rallies for the day of the strike. We’ll post updates on this page and our social media.

HTML Table Generator

City	Time	Location
Kaitaia	10.30am-12pm	10.30am – Assemble at Te Ahu cnr SH 1 & Mathews 11am – March to old Pak n Save carpark 11.30am – Rally 12pm – finish
Whangārei	11.30am-1pm	11.30am – Assemble Laurie Hall Park carpark 12pm – March to Town Basin 12.30pm – Rally at grassed area by Rayburn House Lane 1pm – Finish
Auckland	12-2pm	12pm – Assemble in Aotea Square 12.30pm – Rally starts 1pm – March to Komititanga square 2pm – Finish
West Auckland	7.30am-9.30am	Corner of Lincoln Road and Universal Road.
Hamilton	11.30am-1.30pm	11.30am – Meet at Band Rotunda, Victoria Street 11.45am – March to Garden Place 12.30pm – Speeches at Garden Place 1.30pm – Finish
Tauranga	11am-1pm	11am – Meet at Memorial Park 11.30am – Speeches then sign waving
Rotorua	11am-1.30pm	11am – Meeting points TBC, then travel to Village Green 11.30am – Arrive at Village Green 12pm – Rally at Village Green
Gisborne	11am-1pm	Rally at Heipipi Park then march through town finishing at Kelvin Park.
Hawke's Bay	11am-1pm	11am – Gather at Napier Sound Shell 11.30-12.10pm – Speakers 12.15pm – March down Emerson Street to Clive Square 1pm – Finish
New Plymouth	11am-1pm	Rally at the Puke Ariki Landing. Street March through the CBD – Ariki Street – Egmont St – Devon St East – Gover St-Gill St – Ariki St and back to the Puke Ariki Landing
Palmerston North	11.15am-1pm	Meet at Railway Land Reserve, and march down Church Street to the cenotaph for a rally.
Whanganui	11.30am-1.30pm	11.30am – Meet at the town bridge and march up Victoria Avenue to Majestic Square 12.30pm – Rally at Majestic Square 1.30pm – Finish
Wellington	12pm-2pm	12pm – Meet at Queens Wharf under the sails 12.20pm – March to Parliament via Grey Street and Lambton Quay 1pm – Rally at Parliament
Wairarapa	11am-1pm	11am – Allied Health members meet outside hospital 11.30am – March to the Town Hall 12.10pm – Rally outside Town Hall
Nelson	11am-1.30pm	11.30am – Meet by Nelson Library. 12pm – March down Trafalgar Street to Cathedral steps 12.30pm – Hui at Cathedral steps with speeches 1.30pm – Hui concludes
Blenheim	11.30am-2.30pm	11.30am – Meet at carpark by The Warehouse, March down market street and head to Seymour Square for speeches. 2.30pm – Finish
Christchurch	11.00am-1.30pm	11am – Meeting at North Hagley Park with music, kapa haka, and more 12pm – Speeches and chants at North Hagley Park 12:45pm – March to key locations: the green opposite Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, corporate services and hospital 1.30pm – Finish
Te Tai o Poutini	9am-2.30pm	9am – Meet in New World carpark, Hokitika 11-11.30am – Meet at The Warehouse in Greymouth 12pm – Speeches in Greymouth Town Square 1.30pm – Picket in Westport. Meet in Victoria Square, cnr Lyndhurst & Russell 2.30 – Picket finishes
Mid Canterbury	11.30am-2pm	11.30am – Meet outside Library go over a briefing and safety plan Move down both side of main street to the chessboard area. Speeches, walk past MP office. Move through to carpark on SH1 with signs and placards. 2pm – Action ends
South Canterbury	11.30am-2pm	11.30am – Meet at Soundshell 12.30pm – Start marching to MPs office, emailing him, and then waking to the green on the corner of Church street to chant, cheer and make some noise 2pm – Finish
Dunedin	11am-1.30pm	11am – Meet at First Church on Moray Place, then march up Lower Stuart Street and finishing at the Octagon. 12pm – Rally and speeches at the Octagon.
Cromwell	11.30am-1pm	11.30am – Meet at the Fruit Sculpture
Hokonui	11.30am-1pm	11.30am – Meet at the Gore Brown Trout
Invercargill	11am-1.30pm	Rally at Gala Street Reserve

Your delegates and organisers are negotiating Life Preserving Services

An important part of preparing for the strike is negotiating Life Preserving Services (LPS) with Health NZ. Because the work you do is so vital to patients in the public health system, we as a union and Health NZ will negotiate on the provision of LPS.

Organisers will be working in each district with delegates to ensure we meet our LPS obligations. We have organised training for our delegates in preparation of this. LPS is managed by the PSA and Health NZ and not by individual members. If your employer approaches you directly about providing LPS, please advise your delegate or organiser.

Stronger Together – invite colleagues to join PSA

It is more important than ever that we stand united and fight for a fully funded public health service. If you know of colleagues who are not yet members, invite them to join by sharing this link:

psa.org.nz/join

Check back here for posters, flyers, and other resources

We’ll upload posters, flyers, signs, and more, for you to use to spread the word about the strikes.

FAQs

If these FAQs don’t answer your question, contact your local delegate, your PSA organiser, or Te Roopu Tohutohu Manaaki (free phone 0508 367 772).

What strike action have members voted to take?

PSA members covered by the PSA’s Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand PSA Mental Health and Public Health Nursing collective agreement bargaining both for the Auckland Region and for the Rest of New Zealand (RONZ) have voted by an overwhelming majority to take strike action.

This means undertaking a complete withdrawal of labour from 7am Thursday 23rd October 2025 until 6.59am on Friday 24 October 2025.

Whose responsibility is it to tell the employer that we are on strike?

The PSA will notify the employer of the strike action.

Who can strike?

Only PSA members who are covered by the Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand PSA Mental Health and Public Health Nursing collective agreement bargaining (for both the Auckland Region and Rest of New Zealand (RONZ)) can lawfully take this strike action.

I joined the PSA after 4 October; can I take part in the 23 October strike action?

No. Only those workers who were members of the PSA prior to Saturday 4 October 2025 when we issued the notices of strike action can take the Thursday 23 October to Friday 24 October strike action.

If you have joined the PSA after Saturday 4 October, you should contact your local PSA organiser and volunteer to work by providing Life Preserving Services (LPS) so that other members can participate in the strike. (See questions on LPS below).

If you joined the PSA before the union gave notice on Saturday 4 October, you will be able to take part in that strike.

Can I be disciplined for striking lawfully?

No. Your right to strike is enshrined in law. You cannot be disciplined or discriminated against for exercising your legal right to strike. An employer cannot put pressure on you not to strike. If any of these things happen, contact your local organiser or Te Roopu Tohutohu Manaaki (free phone 0508 367 772).

Will I lose pay?

Yes. Your employer may choose to deduct pay from your salary. The amount deducted should only reflect the amount of time you were on strike when you would otherwise be working.

Do I need to supply my name to my employer to inform them I’m on strike?

No. It is for the employer to determine how it intends to monitor the strike and deduct pay. However, any reasonable instruction from the employer should be followed. If, for example, you were formally requested to advise whether or not you were on strike, you should answer this question.

Can the employer direct me to make up lost time?

No. You cannot be required to make up the time. Making up for the lost time would undermine the impacts of the strike.

What about the pressure to complete my work?

If you catch up on outstanding work in your own time, it will defeat the purpose of taking action in the first place. The point of the action is to disrupt work and demonstrate just how much they need the expertise and hard work of their workforce to get the work done.

Can the employer use someone else to do my work?

Non-members can be asked to cover the work of striking colleagues, but if it is not work they normally do, they can refuse. That is how they can support your strike. Sympathetic union members covered by other collective agreements (e.g., nurses) can be asked but can refuse to do their striking colleagues’ work if it is not work they would normally do. We have written to our union colleagues advising them of this strike action. Your colleagues from other unions will be encouraged not to do your work.

An employer cannot employ new staff to do the work of striking employees unless the work is necessary for health and safety reasons.

Do I have to go on strike?

All PSA members covered by both sets of the Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand PSA Mental Health and Public Health Nursing Collective bargaining are expected to support the industrial action regardless of their opinion or how they voted, unless they are required to provide Life Preserving Services which will be agreed between Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand and the PSA. It is expected that members will respect the principle of collective responsibility and support the democratic decision of the majority by taking part in the strike. We are stronger together.

Can I take sick leave instead?

If you are sick, yes. The principles of your sick leave provisions continue to apply, which means you should NOT take sick leave unless you are genuinely sick.

Will I be paid for sick leave if I was supposed to be providing LPS and I am sick?

Yes. You will be paid in accordance with provisions of your conditions of employment.

What happens if my manager asks me to sign something or tell them if I am going on strike?

Your manager should not be asking you individually if you are striking. It is up to the union to give notice of a strike and to decide with the employer for life preserving services and we have done that. Please refer your manager to the union.

What should I do on the strike day?

Pickets and rallies are being planned. We expect that all members participate in pickets and rallies that have been organised. Members will be updated on details of pickets and rallies.

What are Life Preserving Services (LPS)?

Since the services you provide are essential, neither the union nor Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand want patients’ life or limb being put at risk. As a way of balancing your right to strike and ensuring that patients are not harmed, unions have had input into the Employment Relations Act code of good faith for the public health sector that sets out how LPS will be provided. LPS means:

crisis intervention for the preservation of life:
care required for therapeutic services without which life would be jeopardised:
urgent diagnostic procedures required to obtain information on potentially life-threatening conditions:
crisis intervention for the prevention of permanent disability:
care required for therapeutic services without which permanent disability would occur:
urgent diagnostic procedures required to obtain information on conditions that could potentially lead to permanent disability.

Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand and the PSA will reach agreement about the provision of LPS before the strikes go ahead. You will hear directly from the union if you are required to work for the LPS.

What happens if some unforeseen event occurs and more staff that agreed in the LPS are needed?

In the LPS agreement, we agree to an Emergency Protocol that allows Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand to request more staff if an emergency occurs.

Who do I need to talk to about making sure there is cover during a strike for LPS?

Nobody. LPS will be negotiated by union representatives and the employer’s Strike Contingency Planner. This is not negotiated between individual members and managers or team leaders.

PSA members (and teams) are not required to have any of these discussions (and we strongly encourage you not to). The PSA will approach the LPS discussion in good faith, balancing patient safety with your rights to strike.

Who do I talk to if I feel threatened or need advice?

You should contact your local delegate, Te Roopu Tohutohu Manaaki (free phone 0508 367 772) or your PSA organiser.

Can I talk to the media?

We recommend that if you are approached by the media, refer them to your PSA delegate or organiser, who are free to speak as PSA representatives. We also have delegates from the bargaining team who have been media trained.

What happens next?

Although members have voted to take strike action, we remain open to further bargaining in an attempt to settle this dispute. We urge Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand to listen to workers and put forward a viable offer.

If the dispute remains unresolved then we will ballot for further industrial action. We will discuss with you and other members in your workplace what this industrial action may look like. We will keep you updated.

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