Union expects pay negotiations at MBIE to end in strikes
Thursday, 2 July 2026
Strike action is likely at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment after a low-ball pay offer, the national secretary of the Public Service Association says.
The super-ministry employs about 6000 staff, of whom Fleur Fitzsimons said about 2700 belonged to the union.
Fitzsimons made the comment regarding strike action after The Post became of aware of tensions in pay negotiations.
She confirmed union members in a straw poll had “overwhelmingly rejected” a pay offer that was below the rate of inflation and which she said would see MBIE make changes to pay scales that would mean it took longer for staff to progress to higher pay bands.
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The proposals didn’t recognise the increased cost of living everyone faced and would “take staff backwards”, she said.
The ministry had broken with past practice and ‒ according to advice provided to the union ‒ acted unlawfully by presenting the same offer as a fait accompli to staff on individual contracts, she said, a charge which has been denied by the ministry.
Fitzsimons said those staff were initially given only 13 minutes to raise objections.
That process fundamentally misunderstood the nature of the employment relationship, “where you agree terms and conditions, the employer doesn’t get to impose them”, she said.
Documents sighted by The Post suggested some staff on individual contracts could benefit over time from the changes to pay ladders, while others might lose out at least initially, with MBIE suggesting they were “generally beneficial” to those staff.
Pay bargaining is also under way at the Department of Internal Affairs ‒ where the PSA recently held stop-work meetings ‒ and at Corrections and the Ministry of Social Development.
The negotiations are taking place as many agencies prepare plans to shed a total of 8750 staff in response to average 12% baseline funding cuts that the Government has announced many will need to absorb over the coming three years.
MBIE’s approach to the pay bargaining was designed to divide the workplace and undermine the union, Fitzsimons said. “It’s a very unwise approach.”
Tensions between public service workers and their employers was on the rise, and the negotiations at MBIE had significantly increased that, she said.
“It is likely we will see strike action at MBIE, particularly given the tactics the employer is adopting.”
MBIE chief people officer Jennifer Nathan said the ministry was aware of the PSA's feedback on its latest offer.
“MBIE will continue to engage with the PSA in good faith through the bargaining process,” she said.
“MBIE has provided the updated pay ladder to staff on individual employment agreements to ensure they can access the benefits,” she said.
“Where an employee on an individual employment agreement does not wish to transition to the new pay ladder, they have two weeks to choose whether they will opt out.”
MBIE rejected any suggestion it had acted unlawfully and was comfortable its actions aligned with its good faith obligations, she said.