Latest news with #HereTikangaMahi
Scoop
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
PSA Supports Waitangi Tribunal's Call To Halt Regulatory Standards Bill
The PSA supports the Waitangi Tribunal's call to stop progressing the Regulatory Standards Bill until there has been meaningful engagement with Māori. The Public Service Association (PSA) Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi is deeply opposed to the Bill which is being fast-tracked by the Government despite overwhelming Māori and Tangata Te Tiriti opposition, and serious constitutional concerns. Driven by Minister for Regulation David Seymour, the Bill prioritises personal liberty and property rights while posing a direct threat to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the rights of Māori, PSA Te Kaihautū Māori Janice Panoho says. In an Interim report the Tribunal found that the Bill would be of constitutional significance and relevance to Māori but that Māori were not consulted. The Tribunal therefore called for a halt to the Bill until there had been meaningful engagement with Māori. On Monday (May 19) Cabinet approved sending the Bill for debate in Parliament, bypassing meaningful consultation and undermining the jurisdiction of the Waitangi Tribunal, which convened an urgent hearing last week in response to the bill, Panoho says. More than 18,000 individuals supported a collective Waitangi Tribunal claim (Wai 3470) led by Toitū te Tiriti and other Māori groups, reflecting the widespread concern that the Bill is not only anti-Treaty but actively hostile to all New Zealanders. "This legislation represents a serious constitutional overreach and an attack on the foundational principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi," Panoho says. "It entrenches economic ideology at the expense of Māori rights and tino rangatiratanga. Rushing it through Cabinet without proper consultation dishonours Te Tiriti and shows a complete lack of good faith by the Crown. Māori must not be an afterthought in legislative processes that could redefine our rights in law," Panoho says. "This is not neutral policy, it is a calculated shift toward deregulation and privatisation, one that threatens public accountability and undermines the government's ability to protect collective wellbeing. "By prioritising property rights over social justice, environmental sustainability, and Treaty obligations, the Bill fundamentally alters the role of government in a way that is unbalanced and deeply concerning. "The Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi urges all political parties and communities to reject the Bill. We must not allow our democratic processes to be hijacked by ideology that seeks to silence Te Tiriti, disempower communities, and privilege profit over people and planet," Panoho says. Note: The Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi is Aotearoa New Zealand's largest trade union, representing and supporting more than 95,000 workers across central government, state-owned enterprises, local councils, health boards and community groups.
Scoop
20-05-2025
- Health
- Scoop
Budget 2025: Nervous Wait For Thousands Of Public Service Workers
Tomorrow's Budget will lift the lid on how much further public services will be cut and expose the cost to underpaid women from the dismantling of the pay equity process. "Public services including our cash strapped health system cannot afford to face further cuts and job losses," said Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi National Secretary, Fleur Fitzsimons. "More than 150,000 women have been denied the pay rise they deserve from this disappointing decision to gut our pay equity laws with no prior notice before the election or even a Select Committee process so that New Zealand women could have their say. Tomorrow's Budget will make the scale of the cost to women clear. "We sadly predict Government will be starving many public service agencies and our health system of funds, just as they did last year, and that means further damage to the services New Zealanders rely on. "And we will see how the 'billions of dollars' set aside to fund pay equity settlements for underpaid women, will be freed up to fund the Government's tax cuts for landlords and make the Budget numbers add up. "This will be a mean and nasty Budget, built on taking money from care and support workers and others who had been expecting pay equity settlements before the goal posts were shifted, existing claims scrapped, all under urgency, and without a chance for their voice to be heard. "We call on the Government to reverse all cuts to public services, fund our health system properly and put changes to pay equity laws through a proper select committee process. "In health, the effective hiring freeze for clinical roles is putting patient care at risk, leaving health workers over worked, stressed and facing increasing risk from angry patients poorly served by the system. "Every day we see the price New Zealanders and communities are paying for the Government's short-sighted and rushed cuts to spending. "Just look at last week's damning report by the Auditor-General into Oranga Tamariki. Savings demanded by the Government meant the agency cut funding to hundreds of community service provider contracts, with little notice, without regard to the harm inflicted on the vulnerable children they support. "We have a meth crisis in this country - the Government slashed resources for border protection, which has only made that problem far worse. "New Zealanders can't afford any further cuts to public services. Too much damage has already been done." The Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi is Aotearoa New Zealand's largest trade union, representing and supporting more than 95,000 workers across central government, state-owned enterprises, local councils, health, and community groups.
Scoop
15-05-2025
- Health
- Scoop
PSA Strongly Opposes Decisions Released By Health NZ – Further Dismantling Of Our Public Health System By Government
Press Release – PSA The union filed these legal proceedings in the Employment Relations Authority in February because several proposed restructures breached the Code of Good Faith for the public health sector, the Employment Relations Act 2000, collective agreements … The PSA strongly opposes final decisions released by Health New Zealand for the following teams: Procurement, Supply Chain and Health Technology Management (PSC&HTM), Planning, Funding and Outcomes, and Audit, Assurance & Risk. 'These decisions include the possible loss of specialists procurement, auditing and health innovation and improvement,' Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi national secretary, Fleur Fitzsimons, said. 'The possible loss of these roles has been forced on Health NZ by the Government imposing cuts to our health system that will affect patients. We call on Government to stop these endless cuts to our health system. 'This is why we are still fighting this in the Employment Relations Authority, which is why this will not be implemented until the Authority has heard and determined the matter or the PSA and Health New Zealand have settled it by agreement.' The union filed these legal proceedings in the Employment Relations Authority in February because several proposed restructures breached the Code of Good Faith for the public health sector, the Employment Relations Act 2000, collective agreements and Te Mauri o Rongo – NZ Health Charter. 'We'll be making it clear to all our members that legal action is still going ahead and we strongly oppose these Health NZ changes.' Last month, the PSA agreed a settlement with Health NZ stopping the restructuring of the National Public Health Service and two directorates in the Planning Funding and Outcomes business unit: Data and Analytics, Community Mental Health Funding and Investment, and Data and Digital Services. Litigation remains in place for Planning Funding and Outcomes (Former Service Improvement and Innovation functions): Te Whatu Ora Improve; Evidence, Research and Clinical Trial; Operations; Population Health Gain; Consumer Whanau Voice; Former Office of the Chief Executive (OCE): Strategic Planning and Procurement Supply Chain and Health Technology Management. Earlier today, the PSA also announced further litigation against Health NZ to stop another round of cuts to their Audit, Assurance and Risk, People and Culture, Finance Stage 1, and Communications and Engagement teams.
Scoop
15-05-2025
- Health
- Scoop
PSA Strongly Opposes Decisions Released By Health NZ - Further Dismantling Of Our Public Health System By Government
The PSA strongly opposes final decisions released by Health New Zealand for the following teams: Procurement, Supply Chain and Health Technology Management (PSC&HTM), Planning, Funding and Outcomes, and Audit, Assurance & Risk. "These decisions include the possible loss of specialists procurement, auditing and health innovation and improvement," Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi national secretary, Fleur Fitzsimons, said. "The possible loss of these roles has been forced on Health NZ by the Government imposing cuts to our health system that will affect patients. We call on Government to stop these endless cuts to our health system. "This is why we are still fighting this in the Employment Relations Authority, which is why this will not be implemented until the Authority has heard and determined the matter or the PSA and Health New Zealand have settled it by agreement." The union filed these legal proceedings in the Employment Relations Authority in February because several proposed restructures breached the Code of Good Faith for the public health sector, the Employment Relations Act 2000, collective agreements and Te Mauri o Rongo - NZ Health Charter. "We'll be making it clear to all our members that legal action is still going ahead and we strongly oppose these Health NZ changes." Last month, the PSA agreed a settlement with Health NZ stopping the restructuring of the National Public Health Service and two directorates in the Planning Funding and Outcomes business unit: Data and Analytics, Community Mental Health Funding and Investment, and Data and Digital Services. Litigation remains in place for Planning Funding and Outcomes (Former Service Improvement and Innovation functions): Te Whatu Ora Improve; Evidence, Research and Clinical Trial; Operations; Population Health Gain; Consumer Whanau Voice; Former Office of the Chief Executive (OCE): Strategic Planning and Procurement Supply Chain and Health Technology Management. Earlier today, the PSA also announced further litigation against Health NZ to stop another round of cuts to their Audit, Assurance and Risk, People and Culture, Finance Stage 1, and Communications and Engagement teams. Precious PSA statements:
Scoop
05-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
PSA Welcomes Increased Defence Spend On Civilian Salaries
Union also seeks a commitment from the NZDF to retain civilian roles. The PSA has welcomed the news from the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) that $33 million will be allocated to staff pay increases over the next four years as the result of last year's industrial action. "We're very pleased to see increased funding for civilian personnel salaries in yesterday's NZDF announcement," Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi national secretary Fleur Fitzsimons says. "This decision is a response to civilian staff's strike action last year." Non-uniformed NZDF staff, which includes engineers, IT specialists, and other support staff, undertook weeks of industrial action from September to November, culminating in a strike. The settlement of the strike action contains a specific clause on the union working together with the NZDF on the $33 million of funding allocated from the Budget. "The NZDF have already been in touch with the PSA to work through the allocation of this funding," Fitzsimons says. The NZDF's 3000-plus civilian workforce is currently undergoing a change proposal process which seeks to cut 374 roles. "While this is good news, the NZDF has already lost 144 highly skilled, diligent personnel through the voluntary redundancy process. "To ensure the remaining workers aren't overwhelmed with large workloads and can continue to deliver this essential mahi, we will be seeking a commitment that there will be no more job cuts."
