PSA campaigns against closure of specialist mental health facility Segar House
The PSA is opposing the decision to close Rauaroha – Segar House, a specialised mental health facility based in Auckland for some of New Zealand’s most complex patients.
Segar House is a wrap-around service for mental health clients that incorporates several different kinds of therapies. Its emphasis on group work and positive social interaction is designed to help their patients re-integrate smoothly into community life.
New Zealanders want – and deserve – public mental healthcare that serves everyone, even and especially those with complex needs. The PSA is campaigning for this decision to be reversed.
With the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, we launched a petition calling on Health New Zealand and Matt Doocey, Minister for Mental Health, to reverse this decision and commit to properly funding Segar House. We’ve also sent a lawyer's letter to Health NZ outlining serious concerns about predetermination of the change process.
Te Roopu Taurima industrial dispute settled
PSA members at disability support provider Te Roopu Taurima voted to ratify a new Collective Agreement in early July, ending an 8-month dispute.
A key driver of the dispute was the employer pushing to add 90-day trials to the agreement. Members successfully resisted this, and the trials are not in the new agreement.
It was a long and difficult dispute. The employer banned Kaitaataki and Poutaaki (residential whare leaders) from working additional hours before Christmas and threatened a six-week suspension in response to low level strike action. Members of Parliament and representatives of the disability community stood by workers throughout the dispute.
Kaitaataki and Poutaaki can now return to focusing on their important work supporting taangata and their whānau. The PSA has taken legal action to the Employment Relations Authority over the employer locking out its workers.
First-ever strike at Pharmac
PSA members at Pharmac walked off the job for one hour on 9 July, marking the first-ever strike at the agency. The strike was in response to the employer proposing an unacceptable pay offer and an extensive clawback of conditions.
The members, including health economists, Māori health experts, and medical practitioners, felt the offer did not reflect their essential work getting life-saving medicines to New Zealanders. Like many people working at Government agencies, they are constantly being asked to deliver more with less.
The PSA initiated bargaining over a year ago, in June 2024, but Pharmac did not bargain until October. At the bargaining, Pharmac management proposed a service eligibility for step pay progression, and a pay offer of just 0.2 per cent. The PSA proposed mediation after Pharmac proposed removing step pay progression altogether.
In mediation, Pharmac proposed reducing terms and conditions even further. Most notably, it proposed to reduce the size of step pay increases in exchange for a one-off ‘buyout’ of the step increase employees would have otherwise received this year.
This was unacceptable to members – leading to strike action, including a picket outside Pharmac’s offices in Wellington.
The parties have since re-entered mediation with the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment.
ACC workers take strike action for fair pay
More than 1000 PSA members working at ACC took strike action on 16 July in support of fairer pay.
Members voted overwhelmingly to take strike action in response to an unacceptable pay offer that would see more than 160 workers earning less than the living wage. That is just goes to show how poorly ACC is paying its staff. The latest pay offer is not enough for many members to keep up with the cost of living.
ACC offered a pay increase of between zero and 2% for staff earning the midpoint of their pay band or above, regardless of how low the pay band is. This would leave many low-paid workers stuck in a cycle where their wages are eroded by inflation.
Members chose not to accept this. Because ACC failed to address these issues at the bargaining table, they took the next step and went on strike.
The PSA and ACC went into mediation following the strike, and members are planning further action for 6 August if the dispute is not resolved.
