Welcome to this special online edition of Te Mahinga Ora. We’ve produced an online only version of the journal this time round as a trial to see how it works for members. (The next edition will be a print version).

While the means of delivery has changed, this edition of Te Mahinga Ora is still packed with compelling content. In this issue you’ll find a reflection on the 2024 Congress theme, the story behind our landmark win in the Employment Relations Authority, a report back on the Hui Taumata and an update on the Fight Back Together hui planned for 23 October.

There are fascinating profiles of PSA delegate and disability support worker Pinky Kumawat in and living wage activist and author Lyndy McIntyre, and a giveaway of her book Power to Win, which tells the story of the Living Wage Movement.

Also featured is a story on the success of Samoa First Union in setting up Samoa’s first Workers Advice Centre and a review of Seeing Red, a documentary about PSA member Cecil Holmes.

This will be my last message in Te Mahinga Ora as my time as President ends at Congress 2024. It has been an absolute privilege to serve as your President over the past four years.

Over my time as President, it has been an honour to witness the work of members across all our sectors that has helped the country face the challenges of posed by an ageing and growing population, pandemics, an overstretched health system, severe weather events, and an ongoing technology revolution.

One of the commitments I made in 2020 when I was elected, was that I would keep our focus on growing the strength of our union. I am pleased to say over the past four years that we have grown from 76,000 members in 2020 to more than 95,000 members today.

The influence that our strong membership provides can be seen in many wins achieved in the past few years. These include negotiating the ground-breaking Public Service Pay Agreement (PSPA), the progress we have made in pay equity claims and our Kia Toipoto work, which is seeing a continued reductions in gender, Māori, Pacific and ethnic pay gaps (though there is still more to be done in these areas).

Another commitment I gave when elected as President was to elevate the voices of women, youth, Māori, and Pasifika within our union. Since then, we have appointed a Te Kaihautū Māori to lead Māori responsiveness across the union and Vā Moana Delegates were appointed to represent Pasefika interests. The ALMA Network has also been formed for those who identify with the many ethnic communities that make up our diverse membership.

Te Rūnanga o Ngā Toa Āwhina has continued to grow with nearly 11,000 members identifying as Māori. Our networks also continue to thrive, with Out@PSA growing by 22% in the past year. the Women’s network by 15%, PSA Youth by 13% and the Pasefika network by 11%.

Through the efforts of members, delegates, and staff over the past four years, our union remains in a strong position to strongly oppose job cuts, attacks on workers’ rights, cuts to public and community services and health care, and attacks on Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Thank you all for your commitment to the union movement and for building a better future for Aotearoa New Zealand.

Ngā mihi nui,

Benedict Ferguson

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Care and support workers need to be compensated fairly and respected for the vital job they do, says PSA delegate and disability support worker Pinky Kumawat.

Hundreds of people came together across the country on Monday 1 July at rallies calling on the Government to fully fund a pay equity settlement for care and support workers.

The three care and support unions, PSA, E tū and NZNO, organised the rallies in Auckland, Hamilton, Palmerston North, Wellington, Nelson, Christchurch, Dunedin, and Invercargill.

PSA delegate and disability support worker Pinky Kumawat spoke at the Auckland rally, on a wet, blustery day, her words reflecting the frustration felt by care and support workers across the motu.

"Imagine a world where our work is truly valued, where our contributions are fairly compensated. This isn't just a dream; it's a demand for justice."

Care and support workers work with a range of people with differing support needs, including but not limited to those with disabilities, acute and/or chronic conditions, injury, mental illness, or addictions. The work of a care and support worker is very complex, and the skills the job requires are extensive and comprehensive.

Pinky works alongside autistic people who have complex needs, who express “challenging behaviours” in response to stress triggers. Pinky’s job centres around supporting her clients to mitigate and manage these triggers.

Despite care and support work being historically undervalued and underpaid, Pinky finds pockets of joy in her everyday work. What motivates her most is seeing her clients progress every day.

“What I love most about my work is the adrenaline rush of knowing you’ve achieved a goal with your client. The feeling of success, when you see how they’ve grown, and how you can reflect on their progress over the time you’ve been working with them.”

Despite her work being invaluable, Pinky works two jobs to maintain financial security and ensure a good quality of life for her and her whānau. This situation is often echoed across the sector.

“I’m a huge workaholic, I work two jobs. I’ve taken on two jobs to manage our finances and have a good quality of life. If I get any spare time, I like to read and walk.”

While fighting for pay equity is a priority, Pinky cares most about ensuring care and support workers get the respect, dignity and value that they deserve – as care and support work is often invisible to the public.

“People think that disability support work is only making meals, vacuuming, or doing personal care. That’s one small portion of our work. The major work is how you work around triggers and behaviours, how to ensure [the people we support] are safe. The 95% of what we do is supporting people to become more independent and able to participate in their communities. We are constantly having to make judgment calls.”  

Pinky started in disability support work during her time studying Psychology.

“I basically stumbled upon it, honestly. There were interns [in the Psychology department] that worked with autistic people with higher support needs. What interested me was more than the theoretical. A lot of our books didn’t cover how to work with people – just what their behaviours could look like.”

The nature of the work has intensified since Pinky started working in the sector, but the value, respect and remuneration of the work has remained the same.

“We are expected to do so much more but the pay stays low and we are not properly paid for the work we do, the government needs to invest in the care and support sector.”

Because funding for the sector has been either cut or allowed to run out by successive governments, care and support workers must find workarounds to ensure their clients have the best quality of life.  

“We’re short on funding, so now, the responsibility falls on support workers to creatively get resources for our clients.”

“If the sector was fully funded, it would mean tangata whaiora, the people we support, would have more facilities, more scope for growth, more scope of achieving their goals – because they’ll have the resources they need. Because funding is being reduced or not replaced, a lot of people are having to wait for support,” Pinky says.

Care and support workers achieving pay equity, and the liberation of the disability community, are struggles in Aotearoa New Zealand that are interlinked and inseparable. When our workers thrive, our people thrive, and vice versa.

“When funding isn’t given, both sides of the equation are harmed,” Pinky says.

It’s been over two years since the care and support pay equity claim was initiated, and no settlement has been reached. In the meantime, care and support workers remain under paid and undervalued while delivering essential care to thousands of New Zealanders.

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The call is out for PSA members to support nationwide Fight Back Together Maranga Ake hui on Wednesday 23 October.

PSA members work every day to make a difference. Community, health, local government and public services keep Aotearoa running and ensure we all get the support we need, rather than only those who can afford to pay.

Government cuts and unprecedented attacks on the services we provide are doing long-term damage and risk eroding public faith in these services.

Cutting the jobs and livelihoods of thousands of New Zealanders, scrapping fair pay agreements, reintroducing 90-day trials, and hiring freezes across the health system make this the most anti-worker government we’ve seen in decades.

The assault on Te Tiriti has led to an unprecedented number of Waitangi Tribunal claims.

We’ve stood together against the attacks through the media, in the courts, and on the streets. Almost a year into this Government’s term it’s clear we need to step up our resistance.

On Wednesday 23 October we’re asking you to join with union members across Aotearoa in a hui to Fight Back Together for workers’ rights and honouring Te Tiriti. Put 23 October in your diary, and organise your friends, workmates and whānau to be there.

Gatherings are being held in the following areas: Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, New Plymouth, Palmerston North, Wellington, Nelson, Christchurch, Greymouth, Dunedin and Invercargill. Details are still being worked on – keep an eye on the PSA’s Fight Back Together Maranga Ake website as a one-stop-shop for information.

Will we see you there?
YES, I’M COMING

This is going to be big. Unions haven’t come together like this since 2010 when the John Key Government first proposed extending 90-day trials to anyone.

We know mobilisations like this are effective. Christopher Luxon and his coalition Government have been rocked more than once in their first year by communities turning out for what they believe in.

Fight Back Together has the potential to send a clear message that we stand against the Govermment’s extreme anti-worker and anti-Te Tiriti policies. And we stand in solidarity for a flourishing Aotearoa that rests on the foundation of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and honours workers’ rights, and well-resourced public, health, community, and local government services.

As union members we know our strength is in our unity and our numbers. That’s why it’s so important for you to be there 23 October. Let the NZCTU know you’re coming here

Public service, community, and health workers have a right to take political action

We support your right to be politically active and this is also codified in the Public Service Act 2020. You can do so safely by ensuring you familiarise yourself with and follow your agency’s code of conduct. Te Kawa Mataaho | Public Service Commission website contains guidelines you may find useful.

When you are expressing personal political views remember to ensure you avoid:

• identifying yourself with your work, including wearing logos, lanyards or uniforms associated with your work
• giving the impression you’re giving the view of your agency when it’s your own view
• revealing advice given to Ministers/Councillors that is not public
• disclosing information from your work which is not public
• using your employer’s resources, e.g. email, printer, or your work-provided devices to share, like or comment on PSA social media posts
• associating your work with personal posts on social media – including professional networking sites like LinkedIn.

If you need any further advice, please contact your PSA delegate or organiser.

How you can take part

Hui are being coordinated by the NZCTU and supported by affiliated unions, including the PSA. Some unions will be organising members’ attendance using paid stop work meetings – the PSA will not be doing this

To make our presence as visible as possible we are developing banners and placards for the event and stocking up on PSA flags. Local union members will hold placard painting sessions. We will update you on these sessions once details have been finalised.

If you can’t make the hui

For those who can’t make hui you can also support hui on the PSA’s social media channels. Please do this on your own device and avoid using work supplied devices to maintain separation from your work and your personal political activity and comply with Te Kawa Mataaho | Public Service Commission guidelines on the use of social media. We’ll be in touch with ideas and images to help.

Keeping you updated

Organisation of the hui is a work in progress for all unions involved including the PSA. Things will develop. As preparations for the hui ramp up, we will keep you updated via newsletters, social posts and on our Fight Back Together webpage on all developments. So please keep an eye out for the updates!

You can also register for updates at the NZCTU’s Fight Back Together Maranga Ake website.

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By Dr Lucy Stewart (pictured, far left)
Co-President of NZ Association of Scientists, Spokesperson for the Save Science Coalition

The public science system in Aotearoa New Zealand is currently facing a generational crisis.

Government funding cuts have seen more than 400 science jobs axed across the public science sector since the start of the year.

At the same time there has been a reduction in funding for science research on top of the loss of $64 million a year of funding for the National Science Challenges, which finished this year.

These cuts will have a negative impact for all science and research in New Zealand. While the science sector encompasses both private and public work, it is the public science sector that provides the foundation for all science and innovation in our country. It helps train future workers; it builds and maintains scientific infrastructure; and collects and holds data which supports a wide variety of research and innovation. The public science sector performs research for the public good, such as for example assessing the risk from natural hazards like earthquake and tsunamis.

In response to this defunding of science by the coalition Government the Save Science Coalition (SSC) was founded in May by the PSA and the New Zealand Association of Scientists (NZAS). The coalition has four key goals:  

• to oppose cuts to science funding and science staff across government institutions
• to highlight and catalogue what is being lost through the current cuts
• to defend support for world-leading indigenous research including mātauranga Māori
• to make the case for a foundation of support for public science and re-committing to a target of 2% of GDP to be invested in research and development in Aotearoa New Zealand.

The Save Science Coalition invited unions, scientific societies, and other bodies representing scientists and the scientific workforce to join the coalition. The result was an overwhelmingly positive response, with 27 other organisations now part of the coalition. In July the Save Science Coalition launched its ‘Science Under Threat’ report which provides a comprehensive overview of the cuts to public sector science across all areas of government.  

Unfortunately, it looks likely that there will be more job cuts in the second half of the year.  

The Save Science Coalition has been active in advocating for the sector. Representatives met with science spokespeople from the Opposition, who have received the Science Under Threat report with interest. The Save Science Coalition is currently pursuing a meeting with the Minister for Science, Innovation, and Technology.

The public science system at large is also awaiting the long-delayed report from Sir Peter Gluckman’s Science System Advisory Group, which is likely to set the stage for the transformation of the public science system in 2025 and beyond, picking up from the cancelled Te Ara Paerangi science funding programme.

An attempt to request the report under the Official Information Act last month was rejected as it is before Cabinet, so the Save Science Coalition hopes to see some decisions before the end of the year.  

In the meantime, the Save Science Coaltition will continue working to ensure that a functional public science sector survives to meet the challenges of any new transformation.

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A new book documenting twelve years of the Aotearoa Living Wage Movement is out now. We spoke with author and Living Wage Movement veteran Lyndy McIntyre.

When Lyndy McIntyre reflects on the content of her book, she might as well be making a case for why its example is needed now more than ever. “The book’s only about two things,” McIntyre says. “It’s about power, and it’s about winning.”

The two matters demand our attention and energy. Consider the coalition Government’s sustained attacks on working people: a pathetic minimum wage increase, the scrapping of Fair Pay Agreements, bringing 90-day trials back from the dead – the list could go on. Power to Win documents twelve years of history and successes in the Living Wage Movement. Parts are testimony to how working people can win despite unfavourable conditions.

“It’s important to point out the Living Wage Movement got started under a National Government. And it thrived and flourished.”

“The movement changed the way we talk about wages in Aotearoa. Twelve years ago, nobody talked about the living wage. Now it’s part of the lexicon.”

Except, they didn’t only talk about it. The book chronicles how low-paid workers, along with their unions, community organisations and faith groups, organised and won life-changing pay increases for thousands of people.

The world as it is and the world as it should be

Power to Win challenges readers to reckon with the credibility of their approach to social change. Are we thinking strategically about the world we live in? Or are we relying on the goodwill and fairness of the world as we think it should be?

McIntyre grew up in Stokes Valley, Lower Hutt in the 1950s and 1960s, a time of relative economic prosperity in Aotearoa. She remembers some people in her neighbourhood were better off than others, but inequality wasn’t as prevalent.

In the 1980s, as that divide grew significantly, Lyndy worked as a newspaper compositor. She cut her teeth as a delegate for the Printers’ Union, as computerisation was causing rolling redundancies.

McIntyre then became a union organiser in 1990, working for the Northern Hotel Workers’ Union, a forerunner to the Service and Food Workers’ Union, which later merged with other unions to form E tū. But the start of McIntyre’s 30-year career working for unions coincided with the arrival of the Employment Contracts Act (ECA), brought in by the fourth National Government in 1991.

“There were lots of signs things were going to move in a different direction for working people. As a young organiser just starting out, I certainly experienced the ECA as a very major turning point downhill. It took more power from workers and gave more power to bosses.”

The ECA took away legal recognition of unions and the ability to have industry and occupation wide employment agreements that set minimum pay and conditions. It isolated workers and ignored the inherent inequality of bargaining power in the employment relationship.  

For 20 years afterwards, unions would grapple with new ways of building power to win significant improvements to pay and conditions.

There’s power in the community

The Living Wage Movement was brought to Aotearoa by John Ryall and Muriel Tunoho. The pair were inspired by London Citizens - an umbrella group that brought together unions, faith groups, and community organisations to win fairer pay by combining their power. The group had soon landed huge wins for cleaners, as well as people in the finance sector, even successfully campaigning to make the 2012 London Olympics pay a living wage.

In 2012, the Living Wage Movement publicly launched in Auckland and Wellington, during the months of May and August respectively. Other local networks soon followed – an explosion of collective action.

“Unions just don’t have a monopoly over caring about poverty and inequality,” McIntyre says. “It only made sense to combine the power of union, faith, and community to a common purpose.

“Members are community people. For many, their church or the community they live in is actually their top priority in their life after their whānau. The union’s up there, but it's not necessarily at the very top.”

These relationships enrich the lives of people in the movement, make organisations stronger, and make the collective more powerful.

The Living Wage movement proved this model could work for contractors in the public sector, whose companies are incentivised in a race to the bottom to offer the lowest tender. For contracted MSD security guards, who won the living wage campaigning as part of the movement, she concludes “that was never gonna happen over the negotiating table. Ever.”

The PSA played a big role from the beginning and signed up quickly to get delegates and members actively engaged in campaigns.

No worker gets left behind

One of the first things you notice about Power to Win are the names. Every page is filled with them - union delegates, community leaders, reverends. Everybody’s there.

McIntyre attributes some of the movement’s success to the principle that when workers win the living wage for themselves, they know it wouldn’t have happened without the groundswell of the movement, and so they keep showing up for other workers yet to win.

She mentions an example that is close to home. After directly-employed public services workers won the living wage in 2018, PSA members didn’t walk away.

“The solidarity shown by PSA members is just outstanding and that’s what the living wage movement is all about… They gave huge support to the lowest-paid contracted workers - invariably the cleaners.”

Specifically, McIntyre shouts out Eleanor Haggerty-Drummond, a PSA delegate and Wellington City Council library assistant. Haggerty-Drummond not only became a leader in the campaign to win the living wage for directly-employed council workers, but continued her leadership throughout campaigns targeting Wellington and Porirua City Councils.

We’ve won before and we can win again

Power to Win is full of lessons for anyone navigating building power in this era.

There are countless stories of leadership, mentorship, and friendship – including many people in McIntyre’s life; Sister Maribeth Larkin, Reverend Hiueni Nuku, Reverend Perema Leasi, John Ryall, Annie Newman, Rebecca Matthews, Ibrahim Omer, and Rebecca Nyakuong Kuach to name just a few.

There are stories about what it means to build long-term alliances that truly focus on relationships first. These are stories about organisations and leaders, who reach across diversity and build power around a common cause.

One thing that’s striking, particularly given this current moment, is the number of instances where the same battle needed to be won multiple times after decision-makers eroded wins, or took them away. It’s an all-too-common reality that will resonate with many working people, but perhaps especially care and support workers in the depths of their second push for clearly deserved pay equity.

“You know, it's tough and challenging and demoralising sometimes to be doing it again, having already won. But it's gotta be done. We're about campaigning for justice, so that's what has to be done and it will be done.”

Our movement is blessed when organisers as experienced and knowledgeable as Lyndy McIntyre find time for reflection, amongst the hecticness of kaupapa-driven lives, and write books like this one.

Asked about what’s next in the movement for fair wages, McIntyre is clear-headed in her analysis.

“It’s going to take really strong alliances across civil society to be able to fight back. We need to be finding our allies, forming partnerships and campaigning together because that’s how we’ll have the power to win.”

Power to Win by Lyndy McIntyre is published by Otago University Press. You can buy a copy here, or at local bookstores.

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The theme of this year’s Congress – People over Profits – is timely in face of the Government’s squeeze on funding for health, local government, community and public services, National Secretaries Kerry Davies and Duane Leo say.

The immediate effects of the Government’s cuts are being felt across the country. Jobs and services are being lost in cities and towns and rural communities everywhere. The impact of the cuts will be felt by families, schools, hospitals, Māori, local businesses and in urban and rural communities for a long time.

As well as running down public services and the state sector, the Government cuts are reducing healthcare, community services and local government.

In tandem with the cuts the partnership embodied in Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the foundation for our country’s future, is being undermined.

No area of national life is immune to the Government’s onslaught but worse is yet to come. The cuts are part of an international ideology that seeks to starve public and community of resources, destroying trust in them as a prelude to privatising important services.

Paying private corporates to deliver the public services we all rely on will inevitably move the focus from delivering for people in need to cutting costs to boost profits. The risk is that only those who can pay will be looked after. And the workers who deliver quality public and community services will see their livelihoods threatened by redundancies and reduced pay and conditions.

The Government’s attacks on iwi Māori and te Tiriti o Waitangi are part of this broader agenda to cut away at the foundations of our shared civil society to clear the way for individualistic capitalism in which a wealthy minority and accumulate more wealth and we get trapped in a low wage spiral.

As New Zealand’s largest union, we are taking a stand against the insidious drift to privatisation.

This year’s Congress, with its People Over Profits theme, is an opportunity to rally in support of public and community services.

Congress will be held at Te Papa in Wellington on Tuesday 24 and Wednesday 25 September. About 180 elected delegates representing sector committees, Te Rūnanga o Ngā Toa Āwhina and the networks will attend along with the Executive Board and PSA Leadership.

Congress will be an opportunity to assert our support for the idea that public and community services belong to all of us and are there to deliver for people not shareholders. They’re part of how we care for each other and how we support each other to contribute to our communities and our country.

Public and Community Services are how we as a society make sure everyone receives the care they need, not just those who can afford it. For this to happen we need our governments to act with society’s best interests at heart. Government needs to act as a steward of our shared resources we use to protect, nurture and enable people to grow to their potential.

If government prioritises profit over people, it steps away from its responsibility as steward, cuts back on public and community services and prioritises the interests of private companies and a limited number of shareholders over the common good.

This results in reduced transparency, reduced accountability, greater costs on individuals, reduced access to services, and the running down of infrastructure. Not looking after our shared resources leaves us without a firm place to stand or build a future where all of us and our future generations can thrive.

By advocating for policies that prioritise public and community services being for people over profit, and that build up our collective infrastructure, we can build a resilient and thriving Aotearoa where public and community services honour Te Tiriti and serve as pillars of stability, opportunity and equity.

We will be livestreaming aspects of Congress 2024. Access the livestream here.

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Almost one year on from the beginning of the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Palestine, members across the motū have been organising in their local communities calling for justice, peace, and an end to the occupation by the Israeli state. Meena, a Palestinian PSA delegate, is one of them.

How did you begin in taking action for Palestine?

I was raised going to protests for Palestine. My dad was the head of a few Palestinian migrant organising committees. I have a really vivid memory of being about nine years old and reciting Mahmoud Darwish's poems to kick off a march. I've always been involved in organising, and I think that that's just the case for most Palestinians, whether they're in the homeland or the diaspora you know – you won’t ever meet a Palestinian who doesn’t instantly tell you that they're Palestinian, they just don't exist. I think because of the way our identity and our story has been politicised it means that we've all been raised from a very young age to know how to talk about Palestine, which is honestly a devastating thing to think about. We come out of the womb arguing for our right to exist. So, yeah. That's how I came into it.

What have you been doing?

I work in libraries and community spaces, which means engaging with and supporting  intersecting vulnerable communities, including migrants, refugees, and Muslims. I've been doing a lot over the last two years to integrate Palestinian visibility into my workplace. We have done displays for International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people, which has involved children colouring in pictures with specifically Palestinian imagery and putting that up on the walls. I have included Palestinian books in our Indigenous peoples displays and worked to highlight Palestinian books in other ways. This is a huge step to make Palestinians visible, and show the connections that we have with other Indigenous peoples.

I spoke at the Pride hikoi earlier this year, which was a huge honour as I live at the intersections of being Palestinian and being a trans man. On top of this, my friends and I made a huge banner last summer that we bring along to as many of the marches as we can.

How does this kaupapa connect to union values for you?

The movement for a free Palestine is a union issue because Palestinians are workers. Unions are about upholding people's rights to ‘be’. To have a comfortable and full life. To not be exploited, not to be worked to the bone until you die.

Since the war has started in Palestine, all of the employment has dried up completely because there's no money, and people aren't allowed in and out of Israel. Their permits to work can be taken off them at any time. They can be shot at any time. Their lives are not their own. In what world is that not a union issue?

And ultimately, for a union to not be hypocritical, it has to be an anti-colonial cause. Which is what Palestine is.

How can people join you?

As a Palestinian, what I want to tell people is to not focus so much on being visibly pro-Palestine by buying clothes with Palestinian slogans on them, or buying $50 keffiyehs. That money right now more than ever needs to go directly to Palestinians. It needs to go to Gazawis and their families.

There are three integral things that you can do instead, and that is to:

1. Donate to GoFundMe’s through Operation Olive Branch, and encourage others to do the same.

Operation Olive Branch consolidates GoFundMe fundraisers created by individuals and verifies them so people feel more secure donating their money towards them. They have a huge team of dedicated workers working to GoFundMe’s together, and they have a lot more resources to be able to do it. It's a lot more up to date, and it's all in one place.

2. Buy eSIMs for people through gazaesims.com.

You can get the information on Instagram through @connectinghumanity_. They’re almost always running out of eSims at the moment, and this is the main way Gazawis are able to communicate with people outside of Gaza right now.

3. Donate to the Arab Group for the Protection of Nature (APN).

They've got a project called Revive Gaza’s Farmland. They are doing an incredible thing, where they’re already growing and planting and distributing food for Gazawis across Gaza – not just in the south, but in the north, where food is much more difficult to get, and much more expensive if you can find it.

There’s so many different ways to support Palestine. There's no point in getting overwhelmed. I would suggest picking one thing, whether it's a family’s GoFundMe or donating to Revive Gaza’s Homeland, and putting all of your attention into getting other people to also give to that one thing.

Don't stop believing that Palestine will be free. There's no room for hopelessness right now, especially not from the people who are being bombed. They don't need your helplessness. What they need is your attention and your energy.

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Two important Māori principles – Kaitiakitanga and Pono (we’ll get to their meaning and relevance shortly) – underpinned the PSA’s landmark win in the Employment Relations Authority against the Ministry of Education.

In its determination delivered on July 18, the Authority accepted the PSA’s case that the Ministry had not complied with the Collective Agreement in how it implemented its change proposals for cutting 755 roles.

The proposed cuts are in response to the Government’s rephasing of the NCEA programme, changes to the School Transport and Sector Service Desk processes, and meeting the Government’s requirement for cost savings.

Kaitiakitanga and Pono

The Authority’s determination accepted the PSA’s interpretation of the Collective Agreement’s Section 11 which dealt with change management. The section requires the Ministry and the PSA to engage collaboratively to reach agreement on any change.

It also requires the change process to be underpinned by the principles of Kaitiakitanga and Pono.

These principles were added to Section 11 when the PSA bargaining team rewrote the collective in 2021, PSA Rūnanga National delegate Aleeta Hau said.

Previous collectives had referenced the PSA’s Ngā Kaupapa principles in Section 2 of the collective.

“As a collective team we talked about having Ngā Kaupapa in each section to make the values more real. Each of us were allocated a section and I had the responsibility for Section 11,” Aleeta said.

Aleeta said she chose Kaitiakitanga (from Ngā Kaupapa), which is about protection, and deliberately narrowed the definition to “protection of members to secure fair working conditions and a secure future” within the context of change management.

The second principle, Pono, was taken from the behaviours detailed in the Ministry’s He Huarahi Pai (People Strategy and Behaviours). Aleeta reflected the definition of Pono in He Huarahi Pai as “doing the right thing, not the easy thing,” when implementing change management processes.

PSA Co-Convenor Joanna Houston said, “We could see that the Ministry had only a literal and overly simplistic understanding of Kaitiakitanga and Pono. Our first opportunity to raise their significance was during mediation.”

Joanna said the Ministry should have taken the time to understand the principles it had signed up for, which would have ensured that workers were treated with dignity and decency.

“If Kaitiakitanga and Pono had been applied from the start, there would have been a different outcome from the Ministry’s change process. We wouldn’t have seen the avalanche of complaints from hundreds of workers who were hurt and humiliated by the Ministry’s actions,” Joanna says.

The Hearing

After mediation was unsuccessful the matter was heard before Authority Member Natasha Szeto in late June and early July.

Employment lawyer Peter Cranney and PSA Legal Officer Angus Wilson represented the PSA. PSA Assistant Secretary Fleur Fitzsimons oversaw the case and gave evidence along with Aleeta and Joanna. Evidence was also heard from PSA National Sector Lead Cheryl Reynolds, National Delegate Ian Rich, Delegate Hayley Whitaker (featured on the cover), and PSA members Carl Klitscher, Gary Northcott, and Tania Roxborogh. Organiser Ashok Jacob and Co-Convenor Myron Elkington supported the PSA team.

Prior to the hearing, the PSA group led by Joanna and Myron marched proudly through the marbled foyer of the Authority’s office in Wellington. The video of their entrance was seen by thousands of people on the PSA’s social media channels.

The Authority’s Determination

In its determination, the Authority accepted the PSA’s interpretation that the Ministry had not complied with the collective agreement.

“There was no attempt to engage the PSA as an active participant in the change,” Fleur said.

“The Authority found that the Ministry used the PSA to receive and disseminate information but that the collective employment agreement provided for a far more engaged process with the aim of making recommendations to management, who will endeavour to take the views into account as far as possible before making a final decision.

“The Authority also agreed with the PSA position that the Ministry was required to adopt a case-by-case approach to the outcomes for individuals.  This means considering matters such as retraining, leave without pay, early retirement, severance and assisting people into other work for each individual,” Fleur said.

“This consideration also includes a requirement that severance for redundancy can only be implemented once the Ministry and the PSA have agreed it is an available option and once the individual has agreed to take the option.

“The case-by-case approach and the approach to agreeing options including severance means that the Ministry should reconsider its approach to voluntary redundancy and reducing its reliance on contractors,” Fleur said.

In terms of the importance of Kaitiakitanga and Pono, the Authority found that these principles are “significant”, particularly Pono, with its emphasis on doing the right thing for affected staff rather than what was convenient for the change process.

“Pono was particularly relevant to the requirements that Ministry work with every individual and agree an approach,” Fleur said.

The Aftermath

On hearing the decision, Aleeta, who has left the Ministry for a union advocacy role, said she felt, “happy and proud that the Authority had understood the impact of the kaupapa”.

Joanna said the decision has had a “galvanizing” effect on PSA members, who were now more engaged and involved in union activities.

After the determination, the PSA settled two similar cases with Oranga Tamariki and the New Zealand Qualifications Authority.

“The decision is a victory for dignity and fair treatment at work,” Fleur said.

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PSA Rūnanga representatives from across the five PSA Sectors attended Hui Taumata, the National Māori Congress for PSA Māori delegates, held on Thursday, 22 and Friday 23 July.

More than 100 Māori delegates attended the hui at the Brentwood Hotel in Wellington.

The hui theme was “Te tangata I runga ake te hua" People over Profits, in line with this year’s PSA Congress theme.

Representatives from the Labour Party, Te Pati Māori, and the Green Party were invited to hear from delegates and express their views and priorities within the current political environment. Delegates heard from Labour MP Shanan Halbert (Ngāti Whitikaupeka, Rongowhakaata and Ngāti Kahungunu) and Green MP Teanau Tuiono (Ngāpuhi/Atiu).

Topics discussed included: addressing the disparities in health outcomes; strengthening Māori participation in decision making at local and national levels; housing, protecting Māori rights in natural resource management and conservation, and preserving te reo Māori and Tikanga.

Our aim was also to strengthen our relationships with these parties and discuss the pressing issues affecting our members, particularly the significant job cuts in the public service.

These changes are causing considerable concern amongst Māori members, who have been directly targeted by the government with many facing job insecurity and uncertainty about the future of their roles.

Building alliances are invaluable during this challenging time as we seek to address these issues and collaboratively support a change to a worker friendly government, that recognises Te Tiriti o Waitangi and respects Māori sovereignty.

A panel discussed the governments attacks on Māori Wards and the government imposed public voting at the next local government elections to determine if Māori Wards are to be disestablished.

The panellists were Councillor Babe Kapa from the Far North District Council, representing the Ngā Tai o Tokerau Māori Ward, Councillor Bridget Bell for the Ngā Tapuae o Matangi Māori Ward on the Manawatū District Council and Nīkau Wi Neera representing the Te Whanganui-a-Tara Māori Ward on the Wellington City Council.  

Discussions with the panel included local body support for: addressing disparities in health, education, and employment, te reo Māori and Tikanga, meaningful engagement with iwi in decision-making, and addressing housing affordability and homelessness, particularly for Māori and whanau.

Many delegates also supported the rally against the disestablishment of Māori Wards held outside the Local Government New Zealand Conference at the Tākina Wellington Convention & Exhibition Centre. It was a strong show of support for Māori Wards and Te Tiriti o Waitangi from PSA Rūnanga members.

The Marlene Pitman Award was presented to Hinonga Māngai Māori within the Dunedin City Council Monique Goodhew. The retiring Te Rūnanga Ngā Toa Āwhina Tuakana Lesley Dixon was also recognised for her work in this important role.

Workshops were held on the Mana Wāhine claim, Waitangi constitutional claims and a Rangatahi session, as well as all attendees discussing a review of the PSA’s Te Tiriti Policy.

The Mana Wahine sessions, led by Te Kaihautū Māori Janice Panoho and Whaea Georgina, highlighted the significance of the four Tribunal Te Tiriti o Waitangi claims submitted on behalf of Māori members across the State Sector. These claims carry great weight, as they reflect the voices of Māori members who have participated through feedback and individual interviews.

The claims address several key issues:

1. Disestablishment of Māori Specialist Positions: Māori members are facing the loss of critical roles dedicated to advancing Māori perspectives and needs within the public service.
2. Replacement of Te Reo Māori Names with English: There is concern about the removal of Te Reo Māori names from organisations and their replacement with English counterparts, undermining cultural recognition.
3. Suppression of Te Reo Māori in Professional Settings: Ministers and managers have asked staff to exclude Te Reo Māori, including greetings, from official letters and documents.
4. Restrictions on Karakia: Staff have been discouraged from using karakia to open and close meetings, a practice integral to tikanga Māori.
5. Reclassification of Te Reo Māori Allowances: Te Reo Māori allowances being described as "bonuses" undermines the importance of language use in the workplace.
6. The removal of the 7AA Te Tiriti o Waitangi clause from the Oranga Tamariki (OT) legislation. This clause is crucial as it mandates that Oranga Tamariki must uphold and reflect the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in their work, particularly in relation to the care and protection of tamariki Māori.
7. The re-write of the Treaty principles, which fundamentally alters how Te Tiriti o Waitangi is interpreted and applied across government agencies and services.

The re-write of these principles threatens to diminish the core protections guaranteed to Māori under Te Tiriti. These principles are at risk of being redefined in ways that undermine Māori self-determination (tino rangatiratanga) and reduce the Crown’s obligations toward Māori. By altering these principles, the government may attempt to shift its focus away from genuine power-sharing arrangements and meaningful inclusion of Māori perspectives.

These claims reflect a broader challenge to uphold and respect the rights guaranteed under Te Tiriti o Waitangi within the workplace, particularly around cultural practices and the use of Te Reo Māori.

All in all, Hui Taumata focused on whakawhanaungatanga, kotahitanga and the need to be united against the government’s attacks against kaimahi Māori in Public and Community Services, Iwi Māori and and Te Tiriti o Waitangi itself, with a desire to improve the ability for Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi to provide good support to its Māori members in these trying times, as we move into the future.

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A transgender Out@PSA member explores the implications of NZ First’s Fair Access to Bathrooms Bill, and how transphobia has made bathrooms a hot-button issue.

Content warning: discussions of sexual violence

Where transgender people pee has become a hot topic in Aotearoa New Zealand recently. This is in no small part thanks to imported trans-exclusionary radical feminism from the likes of Posie Parker washing up on our shores, with support from anti-trans figures like Brian Tamaki and his followers.

Most recently, we’ve seen New Zealand First MP Tanya Unkovich add her “Fair Access to Bathrooms Bill” to the Members’ Bills ballot, which proposes a fine of up to $2000 for anyone “who uses a single-sex toilet and is not of the sex for which that toilet has been designated.” The Bill would enable the fining of trans people for using the toilet that aligns with their gender identity – further marginalising them – not mentioning the mystery around how monitoring who can use what bathroom would work.

The Bill also proposes making fully enclosed unisex toilets mandatory in all buildings other than dwellings. To be fair to Tanya, I think most of us would agree that going to the bathroom in an individual cubicle is generally a better experience for everyone, regardless of whether you’re trans or cis – who doesn’t like a bit of privacy while going to the loo? However, the prevalence and accessibility of these bathrooms is limited across workplaces, restaurants, and other venues, and this won’t magically change overnight if the Bill ever becomes law. Trans people shouldn’t be expected to climb three flights of stairs and queue outside the only unisex cubicle in their building for 20 minutes just to use a toilet that is more acceptable to those around us.

The thing is, many trans people are already using the bathroom that align with their gender and… nothing has happened. In fact, one in 200 adults in Aotearoa identify as trans or non-binary, so chances are you’ve already shared a bathroom with a trans person without even knowing.

The manufactured “discussion" around trans people and toilets often focuses on protecting cisgender women from sexual violence, but regularly excludes how trans people experience sexual violence at almost triple the rate that cisgender women do.

As reported in the 2019 Counting Ourselves survey, Aotearoa’s first survey of trans and non-binary people, 32% of trans and non-binary people reported that they had been made to have sex against their will, compared to 11% of cisgender women and 3% of cisgender men. There is also zero evidence that allowing trans people to access facilities that align with their gender increases risk to the safety of cis people accessing the same facilities.

The best way to protect women in public toilets? Let all women go to the bathroom where they feel safest to go to the bathroom.

All trans people deserve the dignity of going to the toilet just like anyone else. If you find your employer trying to control who can use which bathroom in your workplace, make sure to listen to your trans colleagues and advocate for their right to self-determine which bathroom is right for them. And if you know someone trans and you see them using the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity, just let them pee and go on with your day.

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The Public Service Association is backing calls from the NZCTU for National and New Zealand First to reverse Employment Relations Minister Brooke van Velden’s latest moves to limit worker rights.

PSA National Secretary Kerry Davies says the coalition Government has already overseen an erosion of worker rights including ending Fair Pay Agreements and reinstating 90-day trials.

“Now Minister van Velden plans to introduce an Employment Relations Amendment Bill, which would deny workers who have been misclassified as contractors their fundamental rights,” Kerry says.

The Bill has been proposed after the Court of Appeal upheld an Employment Court ruling that four Uber drivers were employees not contractors.

The Appeal Court ruling was seen as setting a precedent that meant workers who felt they had been misclassified as contractors would be considered employees and so entitled to important rights to things like minimum wages, annual leave and sick leave.

“The Minister’s proposed Bill encourages businesses to exploit the contractor loophole and deny workers fundamental rights including collective bargaining, annual leave, sick leave, holiday pay, and the right to join a union,” Kerry says.

“These changes would deny vulnerable workers pay, conditions and job security in order to boost corporate profitability and leave workers open to exploitation by unscrupulous employers.”

Kerry says the PSA strongly supports the New Zealand Council of Trade Union (NZCTU) call for National and New Zealand First to block this ACT policy that is a fundamental clawback of rights for workers.

Worker voice needed on Health and Safety priorities

The PSA is also calling for Minister van Velden to prioritise the voice of workers in her review of health and safety laws.

The PSA, along with other unions and the NZCTU, is concerned the review will lead to a weakening of a long-standing consensus on improving workplace health and safety. The PSA is also concerned at what appears to be a lack of willingness by the Minister to engage with unions on this important issue.

“Any changes to the health and safety laws must be undertaken in consultation with workers and their unions. Workers are the most at risk from poor health and safety practice and they are well placed to be able to make a meaningful contribution strengthening New Zealand’s approach to health and safety.”

“New Zealand workers have the right to a safe workplace and to be able to come home safely at the end of the day. That must be the number one priority of any review to health and safety laws,” Kerry says.

As part of the review the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment (MBIE) is currently consulting on New Zealand’s health and safety system.

To help ensure PSA member input into the review PSA delegates will be joining other union representatives at an Ensuring a Worker Voice Health & Safety forum on Monday (23 September).

The NZCTU forum is being held at Parliament and co-hosted by Labour MP Camilla Belich and Green MP Teanau Tuiono, who are their parties’ spokespeople for Workplace Relations and Safety.

“The forum is an opportunity for working people and their unions to provide collective input into the consultation process,” Kerry says.

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Issues critical to indigenous workers were on the agenda of the 2024 ACTU Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander union forum held in Adelaide in June, which was attended by members of Te Rūnanga o Ngā Toa Āwhina.

The forum, which is the equivalent of the PSA’s Hui Taumata, was held the day before the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) Congress on 5 and 6 June.

The PSA delegation consisted of Te Rūnanga Tuakana and Teina, Lesley Dixon and Virgil Iraia, Te Kaihautū Māori Janice Panoho and Te Kaitohutohu Haupapa Here | Māori Policy Advisor Mike Tana. They were joined by New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU) Rūnanga chairs, Grant Williams and Laures Park, along with NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff they made up the New Zealand delegation to the ACTU forum and congress.

The forum at the Adelaide Convention Centre started with a Welcome to Country from Kaurna Meyunna, the indigenous people of Adelaide in South Australia and surrounding country.

The welcoming ceremony acknowledged the Torres Strait Islander and Māori visitors. Virgil as Teina and PSA Vice President responded with a speech in te reo Māori, which was followed by a waiata tautoko sung by the delegation.

The forum provided a platform for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander unionists to engage and discuss issues critical to indigenous workers.

The PSA Rūnanga members spoke about the challenges for Māori workers in the Public and community sectors and how the PSA supports and champions Māori members.

Te Kaihautū Māori Janice Panoho's korero spoke to the enduring impact on future generations of the advocacy by three influential wāhine Māori leaders: te reo Māori campaigner Hana Te Hemara; Māori land rights campaigner Dame Whina Cooper; and women’s suffrage campaigner Meri Te Tai Mangakāhia.

Janice told the hui that despite recent government actions aimed at rewriting the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and removing te reo Māori names from public service agencies, the legacy of these leaders remained powerful.

Other members of the PSA delegation spoke about their journeys into leadership roles within the PSA, and how te ao Māori principles and practices were woven into the structures and workings of the PSA. They also shared the value of the unique structure of Te Rūnanga o Ngā Toa Āwhina that gives Māori members the foundation for a strong voice.

The ACTU Indigenous union representatives found that hearing our current fight against New Zealand’s coalition government’s divisive actions as critically important for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander members to learn from, Mike said.

“We have a common challenge with our respective governments, with their “Voice to Nation” campaign and our campaign against this government’s anti-Māori policies and directives,” Mike said.

The main topics discussed at the forum were:

• First Nations Voices: Emphasised the importance of including First Nations’ perspectives in various areas, including treaties, intellectual property, and workplace safety.
• Anti-Racism is Union Business: Addressed the role of unions in combating racism, highlighting the psychosocial hazards and workplace health and safety concerns related to racism.
• Bargaining and Cultural Clauses: Focused on setting aspirations, and winning cultural clauses and terminology in bargaining processes.
• First Nations Leadership: Discussed the development of collaborative First Nations union movements and leadership priorities.

At the end of the forum, the NZCTU’s Grant Williams taught the participants a waiata, which ended the forum on a positive and energising note.

“The forum was an incredible time of building relationships and support between countries. It was an uplifting experience to share stories, challenges and struggles with our Indigenous brothers and sisters from Australia’s unions,” Mike said.

The New Zealand delegation also attended the ACTU Congress as observers.

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Caption – The ALMA Committee in Windy Wellington. From left to right: Isabella, Lynn, Kosam, Bhavna, Jis, Julie and Rebecca. Top right: Fairul.

The PSA’s ALMA Network is a new network for Asian, Latin American, Middle Eastern and African PSA members.

The Network provides an opportunity for members to come together and share a collective voice for workers from Asian, African, Latin American, and Middle Eastern communities regarding work issues, share advice and provide support.

Following an election in Feb 2024, the following representatives were elected to the ALMA Network Committee:

Asian Rep: Fairul Ghani

Middle Eastern Rep: Julie Yuhoi

Latin American Rep: Isabella Sanchez Bolivar

African Rep: Kosam Nyamdela

Public Sector Rep: Bhavna Ranadey

State Sector Rep: Rebecca Wing Po Luk

Community & Public Services Rep: Jis Tom

Health Rep: Lynn Zeng

Local Government Rep: Vacant

The ALMA Committee held their first meeting over two days at the PSA Wellington office in April this year. During the meeting, the Committee members began to work on the ALMA Network plan for 2024-25 with the support of PSA staff. The Committee has also drafted the ALMA Network rules, and brainstormed on how to develop the ALMA Network identity further.

The Committee members also discussed the plan for representing the ALMA Network during PSA Congress 2024. It was wonderful for the new ALMA Network Committee to meet some of the PSA staff and elected officials as well.

All the ALMA Network Committee members are excited and committed to the new journey ahead! If you have any questions about the Network or want to get involved, please contact ALMANetwork@psa.org.nz for more information. Members can join the network by heading to the MyNetworks page in their MyPSA account.

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When PSA delegate and mental health worker Greg Davies agreed to be interviewed by RNZ about Police plans to stop attending most mental health calls he didn’t know what to expect.

Greg, who works in Blenheim in the on-call Mental Health Crisis team, is concerned about Police plans to wind back their response to mental health callouts.

“I really think that if Police go ahead with their mental health plans we will be overwhelmed,” Greg says.

“It’s very likely these changes will put patients, their families, the public and health professionals at risk,” Greg says.

He was so concerned about the Police plans he emailed the PSA’s National Sector Lead for Health Ashok Shankar to ask how the PSA was planning to respond.

“In response Ashok called me and asked if I was prepared to speak out on National Radio.”

“I was a bit anxious. I wanted to make sure I did a good job and not let people down or breach any confidentially.”

However, knowing he could speak as a PSA delegate gave him the confidence to be interviewed by RNZ’s Nine to Noon host Kathryn Ryan. Prior to the interview he informed hospital management of what he was doing and received no push back before or after the interview.

Greg’s interview went to air on Monday 16 September as part of a 30-minute package about the issue, which also featured an interview with Police Commissioner Andrew Coster.

Greg, who has been a PSA delegate “on and off for 30 years” was well placed to comment on the issue. A trained nurse, he has worked in mental health for about 35 years. Since 1993, he has worked at Blenheim’s Wairau Hospital, having initially gone there in a 10-week secondment.

Currently he works Tuesday to Friday supporting people with mental health conditions, such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or severe depression. From 8am on Friday until 8am Monday he is rostered on as part of an On Call Mental Health Crisis team. This means he is on call one in every four weekends as well as one or two nights a week.

The team responds to call outs to assess people presenting with mental health issues and if necessary, helps police transport them safely to a mental health unit. This can require a two-hour each way drive to the mental health unit at Nelson Hospital.

The round trip plus assessing the patient, keeping them calm and helping to admit them to the unit can take up to eight hours for each patient.

It’s tough and challenging work and some days are better than others. What keeps Greg going is that he enjoys the satisfaction of co-ordinating responses with other professionals and working with his fellow team members, who work well together under pressure.

“I’ve been doing this a long time and I’ve developed long term working relationships with many of my clients through good days and bad days,” Greg says

“If you have a couple of good days with clients and achieve some success with them, I think this isn’t so bad.”

Positive feedback also helps. “People have said some nice things. After the interview people said such extremely nice things it brought me to tears,” Greg says.

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The PSA video chatted with Saina Tomi Setu (pictured, far left) from Samoa First Union about the union’s success in opening their Workers Advice Centre in Apia, Samoa – the first of its kind.

The discussion was facilitated by UnionAID, a New Zealand-based organisation that supports workers in neighbouring Asia-Pacific countries to build unions, provide training and empower workers through collective action.

Samoa First Union (SFU) represents workers in the private sector, fisheries and the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme, travelling to New Zealand and Australia.

The private sector is the lowest-paid industry in Samoa, compounded by an extremely low minimum wage.

In 2015, the minimum wage in Samoa was $2 WS (Samoan tālā), approximately $1.20 NZD. After years of campaigning to raise the minimum wage, in 2020, SFU successfully secured an amendment to Samoa’s Labour Employment Relations Act (LERA), mandating a biennial review of the minimum wage. As of 1 July 2024, the minimum wage sits at $4.84 WS, and will continue to be reviewed every two years.

“The union was part of that changing from the beginning,” she says.

Adapting approaches

SFU found after years of union organising that New Zealand and Australia union approaches didn’t gain traction with Samoan communities. As many private sector employers in Samoa are hostile to the union, workplace visits are often unsuccessful, hampering recruitment. Saina recalls a time where visiting FIRST Union New Zealand organisers attempted to speak to workers at a local hotel, and were chased out by management.

“That’s a cultural difference I found out compared to New Zealand, Australia. In some of my visiting I saw that it’s free for the organiser to walk in during lunchtime, have a chat in the worksite with the workers. In our islands, that’s really hard to do….They don’t want us to come and ask questions, even if we’re not interfering in working time – they don’t allow us onto the premises,” she says.

Responding to these challenges, SFU organises workshops in community spaces, to educate workers and gather stories to inform research on what issues are impacting Samoan workers most. For some workers, sharing workplace issues can be challenging, so SFU can opt to talanoa (discuss) with an affected worker’s families, friends, parents, or village chiefs.

Through their community talanoa, SFU realised that the need for a Workers Advice Centre was strong, and they began to fundraise through UnionAID.

Starting the Centre

“During our education sessions with the community, it drew to our attention that there’s a need for workers to understand [unions and workers’ rights], and for us to assist them with the issues they’re facing. Since the starting of Samoa First Union, one of our objectives was to help workers with [employment] grievances. Low pay grows harassment and unjustified dismissal in the workplace, due to [the inability to afford lawyers].  

“By getting the workers to the [Centre], we try to get them to share the difficulties they’re facing [regarding] their working conditions,” says Saina.

According to the UnionAID website, “The Workers Advice Centre (WAC), funded by UnionAID, is aimed at supporting and empowering low-paid workers, including Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) workers and community members who seek advice on employment-related issues. The centre’s mission is to provide a comprehensive support system addressing various aspects of employment, particularly for those preparing to work abroad or needing guidance on their rights and entitlements.”

“We understand if we build them strong like they understand the law, they will never [be] afraid of telling what is right and what is wrong. So that's the main key role of the union. So even our RSE and seasonal workers, that's the main reason why we want to keep these things going, to make sure we have our time with them before they leave the island.

“We explain to them in the Samoan language in a way that helps them understand. We tell them we have partnerships with some unions in New Zealand, Australia. They give us ideas of working conditions in Australia and New Zealand, so we can tell [other RSE workers] about that before they leave the island.

“So by the time they arrive there, they have confidence. So I think that's the key purpose of the Centre for all the workers in Samoa,” Saina says.

What’s surprised Saina the most about setting up the Centre is how many more workers the union can reach.

“It's really helped to make the workers come freely to us and share with us. Because sometimes if we went to the worksite or find them in front of bus stops and areas like that, we don’t want to take all their time because they rush to catch the bus back home.

“So that’s why it’s very important to set this up, to let them come in their spare time.”

Building power

Another goal the union is working towards, with the connections they build through the Centre, is to successfully bargain and sign Samoa’s first collective employment agreement.

“In Samoa, it's really hard to recruit and organise private sector workers due to law barriers. We are focusing at the moment as much as we can to get the information we need from workers, so it's easy for us to work and recruit as much of them [as we can], so we can negotiate with the company.

“If we get that done, that would be a milestone for the union, because since day one, there's been no collective…agreements signed by a company and a union in Samoa.”

Every day there’s good news at the Centre, Saina says.

“It’s a relief when we find out the workers who came out to seek help, got what he or she wants….It’s touching when someone calls you…and says ‘thank you, I got what I needed when I came to see you, I got this.’ Even with this changing of the minimum wage, people have been calling us to say thank you for the work that’s been done. Yeah, it makes my day,” she says.

Cross-Pacific solidarity

The support from unionists across the Pacific through UnionAID has been important to the success of the Centre, Saina says.

On May Day this year, SFU fundraised through UnionAID to keep the Workers Advice Centre open, reaching 131% of their fundraising goal.

The Centre project has helped overcome barriers for low-income workers accessing help, as some are paid too little to spare the income for union membership dues. With the Centre open, union and non-union workers are able to access the resources they need.

“To open our door to anyone who needs help to come to us - that’s why we were so thankful and grateful to UnionAID to respond to the proposal we put forward.

“The role that UnionAID, FIRST Union New Zealand, even some unions in Australia, have stepped into – it’s not only helping SFU members, but it’s helping someone in the community,” Saina says.

Looking ahead

Saina’s hope for the future of the Centre is that it stays open for all workers in Samoa, to equip them with everything they need to thrive, and that future generations are educated on labour rights and the role of trade unions from a young age.

“My aspirations for this project…to make sure we carry on and educate our workers well in their rights…to reach out to the community, to educate all of them – to make sure no one’s left behind.”

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The Vā Moana Delegates Village are PSA Pasefika’s key decision-makers, representing the interests of Pasefika members across all PSA sectors. It is a space that inspires, influences, and communicates the aspirations of the Pasefika membership. The focus of the Village is to grow Pasefika leaders who influence a strong network that is confident and informed - using tools that are grounded in Pasefika values and world views. These are Talanoa: Collaborative Inquiry, Tupu: Growth, Tauhi Vā: Nurturing Relationships, and Tautua: Cultural Spirit of Service. These tools were reflected on at the July 2024 Village Fono.

Tauhi Vā & Tautua | Nurturing Relationships & Cultural Spirit of Service

The Vā Moana Delegates Village met in July for the 2024 Village Fono to take the opportunity for collective learning, to pursue collective action. The Village explored and applied the Pacific cultural lens over how we could best serve, empower and advocate on behalf of our members.

Talanoa | Collaborative Inquiry

During the Fono, the Village practised collaborative inquiry, using insights from our membership to identify priorities for PSA Pasefika members across all the sectors. The priorities identified were addressing the ethnic pay gap, recognising cultural intelligence in the workplace, career progression, and understanding the bargaining process. Vā Moana delegates and PSA Pasefika Komiti are continuing to address these through bargaining, fono with members and continuing to organise towards closing the ethnic pay gap.

Tupu | Growth

Growth in learning and understanding about the PSA and our role as Vā Moana delegates, as well as strengthening our collective capability as delegates, were outcomes that the Village had set out to achieve through workshops and presentations. We reviewed our own collective agreements to identify ways we can advocate for better work environments, workshopped ways that our Pacific values and ways of being can add value to the way that we work, and supported each other to devise alternative solutions for challenges in our workplaces.

A Strong Pacific Voice

New Vā Moana Delegate for Ministry of Housing & Urban Development, Shannah Fiso, says the Fono enabled her to tailor her goals for the members she works with, and reminded her of why she became a Vā Moana Delegate. “I’m eager to socialise what I’ve learnt with my members, since it’s easy to feel disempowered in the current political climate. This Fono gave me the tools to action our collective goals and think creatively about how I can empower my members to act and create change,”

Brian Palalagi, Waka Kotahi Vā Moana Delegate and Sector Rep, is inspired to think about sustainability and ensuring the continuity of Vā Moana initiatives. “I’ve noticed a positive shift in engagement and active participation in our Village. I’m excited to maintain the pace we’ve started at this Fono. Now it’s time to work towards delivering on the initiatives we’ve begun,” he says.

Vā Moana Co-convenor Patrick Feaunati says that his hopes for the Vā Moana Delegates is that they are well equipped to empower and support Pasefika in the workforce.

The Vā Moana Delegates Village understand we have the opportunity and responsibility to transform the way employers and PSA Pasefika work together in driving equitable outcomes for Pasifika workers, and we look forward to the term ahead.

A fia vave oo lou va'a alo nu o 'oe. Ae a fia tuli mamao le taunu'uga tatou 'alo'alo fuatasi.
If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. - Samoan proverb

If you are interested in becoming a Vā Moana Delegate, contact Vā Moana Co-convenors Patrick Feaunati (patrick.feaunati@mbie.govt.nz) or Kahu Lousiale-Tahaafe (kahu.lousiale-tahaafe@dia.govt.nz).

Learn more about PSA Pasefika here.

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The PSA Women’s Network held its biennial conference on 27^th and 28^th August 2024. This year’s theme was “Inspire Inclusion” – one the Women’s Network Committee felt was highly appropriate, given the efforts of our current government to create so much division.

To combat the feelings of isolation and frustration division brings, the Women’s Network Committee chose to focus on drawing our members together. We had a diverse group of women in attendance, many of whom have been doing amazing things in their respective communities and within our union. It was inspiring to hear their stories and to see them growing in confidence over the course of the two days!

Attendees heard from a diverse range of speakers, including Labour MPs Camilla Belich and Carmel Sepuloni, and Green Party Spokesperson for Women, Lan Pham.  

A notable highlight on day one was Jo Devine’s speech, who moved attendees with her open, honest and courageous story of life as a trans woman – there were tears, laughs, and many photographs taken with this gorgeous and delightful woman!  

Attendees had four varied and interesting workshops to choose from at the conference -
Neurodiversity in the Workplace, Retirement Planning, Ngā Kaupapa, or an amazing presentation from Women’s Network Committee member Korine Stairs, on her adventures with the International Women’s Motorcycle Club!

Women’s Network Co-Convenor Sonja Lister led a vibrant panel discussion on challenges for women in the workplace at the different stages of life from a youth, mid-age and retired wahine perspective.  

Attendees received an update on current equal pay claims from PSA Organiser Nanette Cormack, PSA Whaea Georgina Kerr presented on the Mana Wahine claim, and Women’s Network Co-Convenor Nancy McShane spoke about her equal pay journey with the PSA/DHB Admin claim – the first to be settled under Labour’s 2020 Equal Pay Amendment Act.

Informative and inspiring presentations were also given by PSA National Secretary Kerry Davies, PSA President Benedict Ferguson and Acting New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Secretary Erin Polaczuk.

A photo montage of inspiring women from a variety of different cultures was also shown.  Nancy encouraged attendees to draw inspiration from this montage.  

“If you see a woman who looks a bit like you, or who sounds a bit like you, then take inspiration from her story and use that to fuel your own journey. The path is long. Many have walked it before us, many will walk it after us, but if we all join hands and walk together, our destination will be reached!” she said.

Attendees headed home from the Conference feeling uplifted, inspired and ready for the challenges we know lie ahead!

Ki te kotahi te kākaho ka whati ki te kāpuia e kore e whati.

When we stand alone we are vulnerable, but together, we are unbreakable.

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Judith Collins, our Minister for Digitising Government, says “we stand at the cusp of a digital revolution that has the power to transform the way our government serves New Zealanders.” According to the Minister this will mean agencies moving at pace to do this by “leveraging AI and other data-driven technologies.”[1] Already 65% of agencies report they are using AI and 85% plan to.[2]

What will this revolution mean for the jobs of people working in public and community services and how can we shape digitised public services so that they operate for the public good and in the public’s interests?

The introduction and use of AI is part of the ongoing digitisation of work. Technology shocks (the rapid introduction of new technologies) are always disruptive for workers and labour markets, and there are always winners and losers.  The PSA has been around as a union since 1913, so we have seen and influenced the roll-out of generations of new technologies.  We have a proud history of organising to ensure PSA members experience a just transition through technology change. Our focus is on ensuring workers in public and community services have a major influence on the introduction and use of AI in public and community services; and that this creates outcomes that maximise the benefits and prevent negative impacts of AI for workers and the public.

Generative AI and forms of automated decision making can offer many benefits for public and community services. Work can be done more efficiently, service design and delivery improved, and regulatory and compliance work can be speeded up. For example, councils and agencies can use automated decision making to grant compliance certificates or allocate grants. Hospitals can use it to prioritise patients for treatment and schedule appointments and correctional facilities can use it to classify people in prisons and allocate them to facilities and programmes. Chatbots can answer basic queries, and large language processing modules can help lawyers prepare documentation or policy people summarise public submissions. Developers can use AI to review code. All of this can free up workers to do work that adds more value.

But the downsides are also very real. Public agencies are rightly held to a higher standard in respect of trust and confidence and so safeguards are needed to ensure protection of personal, client and worker data. Those safeguards are not yet in place. Generative AI can produce inaccurate and incomplete outputs and has the potential to perpetuate bias and mis- or disinformation, and AI systems can be complex to understand, causing issues where understanding decision-making processes is important. Humans must still be the final decision makers and accountable for those decisions.  

There are also important questions about data sovereignty to consider including in our New Zealand context not using mātauranga Māori in AI, and the environmental impact of AI tools, all of which require significant use of electricity to operate. Ownership, and so control of the tools and who benefits is important. In the US where AI is in greater use, ownership and so control is firmly with the private sector.

In a work and employment context, there are risks to workers’ privacy and with the protection of your personal (including biometric) information, risks to health and safety through increasing work pace, and risks to jobs as tasks are automated. New tech in public service workplaces should be used to empower people and enhance their work, not surveille them.

Other countries have been legislating to create guardrails for the use of AI in public services and at work. We can’t rely on that happening here. In late June, Cabinet made a decision to take a “light touch” approach and not regulate but rather to rely on our existing human rights, privacy and consumer protection laws – none of which were developed with AI in mind. This “agile approach” will rely instead on “voluntary guidance, industry codes, technical standards, and audit requirements”.^[3] At the time of writing, Cabinet was due to decide a “principles-based AI framework to support responsible and trustworthy AI adoption and innovation in Government”, with no consultation with public and community workers or the public.

Where use of AI tools is being considered, those who will be using them need to have a say on purpose, design and implementation. In the absence of the government setting standards and safeguards through legislation, or other transparent democratic process, the PSA and other public and community service unions have a role in advocating for robust standards and safeguards at the agency and industry level. Together we can create outcomes that maximise the benefits and minimise negative impacts of AI for workers and the public.

[1] https://www.beehive.govt.nz/speech/speech-sixth-annual-new-zealand-government-data-summit

[2] Nov 2023, survey by Government Chief Digital Office.

[3] Approach to work on Artificial Intelligence, 26 June 2024,  ECO-24-MIN-0119.

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By Sam Williams

In 1949, a spectre was haunting Aotearoa – the spectre of communism. At the dawn of the Cold War, public service worker and PSA delegate Cecil Holmes was targeted in an anti-communist witch hunt by the government that attempted to pin workers’ dissatisfaction on foreign interference. All this is covered in Annie Goldson’s 1995 documentary.

At a brisk 49 minutes, Seeing Red is a skim read over a fascinating life. Goldson uses cheesy reenactments, talking head interviews, and archival footage to chart out Holmes’ life without ever going into a lot of depth.

We’re told of Holmes’ early political influences as he experienced the hardships of the Depression and watched the shadow of fascism grow in Europe. We’re also told of artistic influences, seeing British documentaries of a social realist style. In an archival interview, Holmes describes the documentaries as using “dramatic meaning to give people a sense of pride in their labour. [Show] the dignity of labour.”

After serving in WWII, Holmes was able to explore his political and artistic sides as he joined the budding communist movement and started working in the National Film Unit (NFU). He became a delegate of the PSA, which Seeing Red describes as one of the “more militant” unions pushing back against low wages set by Peter Fraiser’s Labour Government.

This builds to the central incident: Holmes’ plans for a stop-work meeting at the NFU, and his Communist Party membership card, stolen from his car. These find their way into the hands of then Acting Prime Minister Walter Nash. The government use the plan and membership card to fabricate a ‘red scare’, supposed evidence that the Soviet Union was infiltrating the workers’ movement. This kept the public distracted from the workers’ real grievances, and gained favour with the USA.

But just as the documentary starts to kick off, it starts winding down again. The immediate fallout of Holmes’ smearing is covered in a couple of minutes. The case that the PSA took to the Supreme Court on Holmes’ behalf, and won, barely gets a mention. The film wraps up by briefly covering Holmes’ move to Australia, and the years he spent making films to promote the cause of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, before his death in 1994.

The story of Cecil Holmes touches on the role of art in political and social life, balancing personal and professional in a public service job, and the rising union movement in the 1900s. Seeing Red offers no real insight into any of this, but it sparked a healthy curiosity for me to learn more. I’m off to read any and every biography of Holmes I can.

Photo courtesy of National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa.

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By Emily Writes

A mum of a disabled child rang me in tears. “Have you seen the latest? Have you seen what they are doing to us now?” she sobbed.

I knew. I’d just learnt of a leaked document published on the Parents of Visually Impaired NZ (PVINZ) website, stating the Government planned to severely restrict and reduce access to residential services for disabled people.

As I tried to support her, emails rolled in from parents of disabled tamariki.

I began to think about how I would explain what the restriction in residential services meant, when I realised she was referring to the plan to review Enabling Good Lives (EGL) budgets more often than the already exhausting annual basis, to reduce spending.

Anyone with a disabled or medically fragile child will tell you that getting the support needed to keep your child alive and safe, let alone thriving, is a challenge. But never, in 11 years of disability sector advocacy, have I ever seen the level of brutality and cruelty the coalition Government displays toward disabled, medically fragile and neurodivergent tamariki.

In just six months, the Government has severely restricted parents and carers of disabled tamariki from accessing any respite - a decision made with no notice and announced through Facebook.

They have shut frontline services like Tākai, a parenting resource hub, which had for three decades supported parents. They couldn’t survive even a year under this government. Every resource they published is now no longer accessible. Friendship House, which has offered counselling for two decades, had its Oranga Tamariki counselling contract discontinued with four hours’ notice.

The Government reduced services for wheelchair users in March. In July, with immediate effect, restrictions were placed on purchasing rules for disabled people's equipment and support services. Families can no longer access funding or subsidies for disability support programmes for their children, like Riding for the Disabled or swimming lessons, during school hours.

According to CCS Disability Action, households with disabled children were 1.5 times more likely to earn under $40,000 a year, compared to households with non-disabled children. 63% of carers of disabled children say they do not have enough money or only just enough money.

When I say that families cannot keep up with all of these attacks - it’s not hyperbole.

Bernard Hickey talked about this in his newsletter, The Kākā. He said: “I have begun to realise the constant barrage of outrages is not a bug within the current Government. It’s a feature. It is designed to distract, overwhelm and defeat those wanting to try or at least examine other policies, especially ones backed by actual evidence and that haven’t been tried before and failed before.”

The community desperately needs others to stand with us and speak up for us. We are in crisis. We are exhausted. We need your help.

Speaking out and standing up against this government’s cruelty may literally save lives.

Emily Writes is a mum of two, a columnist, an activist, a volunteer, a writer and a friend. She is the best-selling author of Rants in the Dark: From One Tired Mama to Another which was turned into a stage play that toured Aotearoa. She's the editor of the anthology Is It Bedtime Yet?  and her latest book Needs Adult Supervision: Lessons in Growing Up is the long-awaited follow up to Rants in the Dark.

She is currently making a living from her online newsletter (Emily Writes Weekly) subscriber base. She is also the director of Awhi Ngā Mātua – a charity supporting parents of disabled and medically fragile kids and host of the podcast The Courage Club.

This is an opinion piece and the views expressed in it do not necessarily reflect the views of the PSA.

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By Tearii Pilitati-Firmin, PSA Youth
and Mele Tonga-Grant, PSA Pasefika Female Youth Co-Convenor

Tearii and Mele from PSA Youth explore different methods of making change in the workplace.

Today’s political landscape is rapidly changing. It’s more important than ever for us to be proactive and educated, so we’re able to best serve our communities, respond to emerging challenges created by political decision-making, and to hold the government of the day to account.

As public and community service workers, where can we start if we want to take action?

Navigators of change

Assessing the conditions of our work environment that we have influence over grants us a powerful position in the workplace. The following can act as levers that will influence and activate meaningful change

Policies: We can influence the rules we work by and our ways of being within our teams. This includes our collective agreements.

Practices: What we do and the tikanga we practice sets our foundations and the aspirations we have for ourselves and our work, using our cultural values as a basis for decision making.

Resource Flow: What we have access to and how we share this information can be a powerful tool, especially when we consider the collective nature of union work.

Relationships: How we work together and tauhi vā (how we reciprocally nurture relationships) is important in encouraging collectivism.

Power Dynamics: Understanding our spheres of influence with leaders and influencers of change.

Mental Models: Our mindsets and internal dialogue and beliefs influences the way in which we activate and unionise.

The following actions demonstrates how these levers can be used.

Keep the kōrero/talanoa rolling

Keeping up with current issues, budget cuts, job security, working conditions and so on can be challenging. PSA networks can help to keep us informed and consider a range of perspectives. This better enables us all to understand our collective needs and aspirations and to make gains which benefit us all and leave no one behind. Safe spaces to unpack topical issues allows us to also build a more informed and resilient community. Political awareness isn’t just for policy makers and advisors, it’s for everyone!

Energise the energisers

Us workers can encourage each other, by celebrating our coworkers’ achievements and creating opportunities for whānaungatanga through shared kai or activities such as doing the morning quiz together. We want to ensure our communities and workplaces remain adaptable to change and ready to face the challenges of political shifts. Find those people who are equipped with political knowledge and aligned with your values. Build mana-enhancing spaces by allowing people to be their whole authentic selves and celebrate our differences so they also feel confident and supported to take on leadership roles, lead out different kaupapa and drive engagement. Build a village of dynamic supporters around our leaders, to be guided by the voice of our workforce.

You do you and back yourself

We have the power to drive true change, generationally, and it’s not going to be easy. Every person has a role to play and has something special to offer. We need to commit ourselves to being authentic.

Bring your whole self to work, always acknowledge your commitment to your cultural values and traditions. In the face of challenges or misunderstandings, your understanding through these practices is invaluable - , our acknowledgments to you all. It is through these actions that we not only honour our heritage but also create spaces where everyone, regardless of background, feels valued and respected.

While these actions may seem small, they are incredibly powerful and can create meaningful change – but most importantly, these actions are most effective when they’re taken as a collective. When we take these actions together, we create a stronger and more responsive union – able and ready to respond to our political environment.

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