Internal Affairs workers strike as tensions rise across public sector
Monday, 13 July 2026
About 1300 union members at the Department of Internal Affairs will strike for two hours on Monday in support of an improved pay offer, the Public Service Association says.
National Secretary Duane Leo said the industrial action was being taken “as a last resort” in response to a pay offer that would see most of its members receive a pay increase of less than 1%.
Striking workers would include those who process passports and birth, death, marriage and citizenship documents, National Library and Archives staff, gambling and anti-money laundering regulators, and staff working on digital safety and child exploitation, the union said.
It is understood more than 10,000 public servants across the public service are currently in collective bargaining over pay offers that generally fall short of inflation.
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The PSA has previously predicted strike action is likely at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, where about 2700 of the 6000 strong workforce belong to the union.
Tense negotiations are also understood to be under way at the Department of Corrections, and at the Ministry of Social Development where PSA members have rejected a three-year pay offer.
The pay bargaining is taking place against the backdrop of steep cuts to the budgets of many government agencies.
Most chief executives have been tasked with coming up with a plan to reduce their baseline funding by 12% over the next three years and collectively absorb about 8700 job cuts.