One of the PSA’s values is Social Justice – Papori Ture Tika, which means we take a stand for decent
treatment and justice, we embrace diversity and we challenge inequality.
The foundation stone for the PSA’s social justice advocacy is our work protecting the civil and political rights of members. Before the 1930s, public servants' civil and political rights were strongly curtailed and they had no right to take any kind of political action without losing their jobs. In the 1930s, the PSA won important protections for members' rights to civil and political expression.
Since then, we have been vigilant about ensuring public servants' rights. In 2004, we protected our members' right to join the hikoi against the Labour Government’s Foreshore and Seabed Bill.
In recent months, PSA members have attended marches around the country calling for a ceasefire in Palestine, and opposing attempts to roll back the significance of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Opposing apartheid
Social issues by their nature can be contentious. A consensus can take a long time to emerge. As Dr Martin Luther King observed, “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice”.
While a consensus against the 1981 Springbok Tour has developed over the years, in 1981 the country was strongly divided on the issue. While it may not have pleased all members at the time, the PSA had a long history of supporting the anti-apartheid movement. The executive voted to oppose the 1960 All Black tour of South Africa. Frank Winter (Ngāi Tahu) – a delegate, executive member and eventually deputy general secretary – was a leading member of the anti-apartheid movement. In 1981, many members took PSA banners to marches up and down the country opposing apartheid and the Springbok Tour.
Social justice doesn't stop at the workplace door
As well as advocating for better pay and conditions for members, we also work to ensure people are treated equally and with dignity, and their basic rights such as the right to stay home when sick are protected. The union’s work doesn’t stop at the workplace door. Our workplace is part of the world, and inequality in the world effects the workplace. The fight for pay equity cannot be divorced from ensuring equality in society.
In the 1980s, the PSA supported Homosexual Law Reform, arguing that we were unable to properly support gay members in their workplace if parts of their life were criminalised. We were part of a larger
movement advocating to end a huge injustice, and to ensure that we could properly represent members.
As with any social issue, not everyone agreed with the PSA’s position on Homosexual Law Reform. One
member unsuccessfully stood for President arguing that the PSA should not take a position on reform.
Deciding our stance on issues
The PSA’s position on important issues is decided by the Executive Board, which has representatives from each sector and Te Rūnanga, in consultation with members and PSA structures including sector
committees and networks. The PSA position is also guided by international union information and
policy.
The Board is chosen by sector committees, which are chosen by delegates. So being active within the
union gives you more power to shape union positions.
Members through the PSA structure can also advocate for our union to take a stand. The Health Sector
committee recently decided to speak out in support of health workers in Gaza, working in horrific conditions in fear of their lives. This stance was approved by the National Secretaries.
The PSA can also develop its position working with other unions affiliated with the Council of Trade Unions (CTU). The Board represented the PSA at the CTU conference last year, which developed a Resolution on the Palestine/Israel conflict. The resolution called an immediate and permanent ceasefire and “condemns all acts of violence against civilians, including the attack by Hamas on 7th October 2023, and condemns Israel’s siege and bombardment of Gaza, which has created a major humanitarian catastrophe.”
A first step in deciding where the PSA stands on issues is to have a discussion among ourselves.
To stimulate some debate in the following pages, you’ll find some thought-provoking articles making
the case for extending voting rights to 16- and 17-year-olds and opposing changes to community
sports funding that could disadvantage transgender sports people.
The articles that follow in the Kōrero section are opinion pieces and do not necessarily reflect the views of the PSA.
