Local Government

The PSA is the largest union in local government with almost 8,000 members.

If you work at a council, council-controlled company or organisation, or a local public institution - we’re the union for you.

The local government sector has its own national committee and a seat on the PSA Executive Board, this ensures your sector has a voice at all levels of PSA decision-making.

You can meet the members of the committee here.

Local Government Sector Committee tour the National Archives (2019)

Equal Pay in Local Government

A big step forward for library assistants

In May 2019 the PSA took a big step forward in its campaign to achieve equal pay for library assistants working in local government. 

Glenn Barclay, PSA National Secretary sent a letter to the Chief Executives of the six large councils – Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin – notifying them of our belief that library assistants suffer from gender-based pay discrimination, unlawful under the 1972 Equal Pay Act. 

We invited those six councils to form a joint working group with us to resolve this claim and to agree a wage rate for library assistants that is free from any gender-based discrimination.  You can read excerpts from our letters to the chief executives here.