Catherwood LibraryILR School

Around 30,000 nurses in New Zealand went on strike last month to protest stagnant wages for the first time in nearly 30 years. Meanwhile, tax department workers and primary school teachers are also on strike. New Zealand’s center-left Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern does not condone these labor actions, but she says that under-investment into the public sector over the last nine years has led to deterioration in areas like hospitals and schools. Over that same period, the country’s economy has steadily expanded while wages have remained relatively subdued. Ardern introduced labor reforms that strengthen the bargaining power of unions to help reconcile the spread.