Live updates from the mega strike and a bit on the weather

Yesterday, The Spinoff published this handy explainer on the mega strike, detailing how we got here, what has or hasn’t been offered and what’s up for negotiation.

From Emma Gleason:

Why are so many workers walking off the job?

Unions say their members are “overworked and underpaid”, and negotiations over collective bargaining agreements have stalled. All have expressed dissatisfaction with staffing levels, workload, underfunding, pay not keeping track with inflation (currently 3%, a 15-month high) and working conditions.

Healthcare workers with PSA are concerned about safe staffing levels, recruitment delays, and pay-rise offers below inflation. ACC workers are unhappy with pay and workplace morale. Corrections nurses are worried about staffing, workload and safety, as the number of people incarcerated in New Zealand’s prisons hits a record high of 10,881. NZNO members are striking over patient safety, staffing and pay. PPTA also lists “mental health needs” of the country’s stressed teachers. Among its requests have been pastoral staff to support an “increasing” number of students struggling with learning. Primary teachers rejected a 2.7% pay offer last month, which “failed to match inflation” and was the “last straw”, according to the union.

This comes at a time when the country continues to grapple with economic challenges, new government policies around workers’ rights, and the repeal of the Fair Pay Agreements Act 2022.

Dead quiet in central Wellington apart from the gales ripping through. Local train and ferry services all cancelled, no flights in or out until at least this afternoon. Very sensibly strikers have been urged to protest from their homes.

The weather forecast in the capital city today is “severe gale northwesterlies with damaging gusts of 140 km/h in exposed places.” There is expected to be damage to powerlines and roofs and major disruptions to transport and power.

Porirua City Council has asked residents to avoid parks and coastal areas, given the risk of falling trees and swells.

The weather warnings have certainly put a dampener on planned action south of Levin but there are still plenty of gatherings going ahead around the country. If you’re curious, here’s a handy list of events, including those that have now been shifted or cancelled outright.

With Auckland being the largest event in the mildest weather, expect many thousands to turn out on Queen Street at noon today.

The Nelson Mail has reported that Nelson Hospital’s back up generator failed to kick in during this morning’s power cut, leaving the hospital in the dark for at least an hour. A Te Whatu Ora spokesperson said no patients were impacted, but PSA organiser Toby Beesley said some striking staff members at the hospital had been called back under emergency protocols.

“We’re really keen to support the hospital, but it really highlights the underinvestment in infrastructure at Nelson Hospital that we’ve been calling for improvement for years,” he said.

Nelson Hospital has been in the news this year with senior doctors expressing concerns about staffing and patient safety.

The workers are still on strike but the planned event in Nelson due to the weather and power outages in the region.

Handily for The Spinoff live blog purposes, there is strike action happening on the streets of Morningside, with primary school teachers set up at the busy traffic lights inviting honks from cars passing by.

Checking in from the mega-strike (non-cancelled edition), where the official Spinoff attendance count is at a “boatload” and verging on a “shitload”. The square is packed and a union rep is currently leading a chant. “When teachers’ rights are under attack,” he begins. “Stand up, fight back,” the crowd yells in response.

Kiwirail has closed the Wellington rail network today due to the wind. That means all Metlink train services in and out of the city have been cancelled until 6pm and potentially for longer.

For residents of Wairarapa, a familiar refrain has been sung. All trains cancelled and no replacement buses.

Residents across the Wellington region are still being told to stay inside, with only essential travel. The Metservice strong wind warning has been extended to 7pm tonight, and gusts are expected up to 160km/h.

A mix of members from PSA, PPTA, nurses unions and more have gathered in Dunedin’s Edgar Centre ahead of a demonstration event as winds pick up in the southern city.

An eclectic array of signs can be seen, from nurses’ pay to Toitū te Tiriti to “back NZ assets”. This Roald Dahl-esque number is particularly inspired.

Kat, an emergency department nurse at North Shore hospital, has turned up after a night shift last night. She’s only had four hours sleep and is also on a night shift tonight but is marching because “this is important”. Her main concern isn’t pay, it’s safe staffing. She arrives to work every day to patients lining the corridors, and short-staffed shift rosters. “I come into work and I feel unsafe,” she says.

Nicki Searle was keen to join the Rally in Te Tai Poutini/West Coast, and made these banners, but the event was cancelled due to weather. “All my love and support to our awesome people, health workers and teachers,” she said in her submission to The Spinoff.

Invercargill City Council has put out an alert as the wild weather arrives in the south. All bus services in the city have been suspended until further notice, and Invercargill and Bluff transfer stations are closed, as is Bluff service centre.

“Due to the severe weather conditions, multiple trees have fallen across the city and flying debris poses a serious safety risk.” As a result, all parks and reserves in Invercargill and Bluff are closed until further notice and residents have been advised to avoid those areas.

Secondary school teacher Paul Stevens is rarking up the crowd. He’s found a surefire way of getting feedback: hassling Judith Collins. There’s a loud boo when the minister for the public service’s name is mentioned. He’s hitting back at the government’s criticisms of the union decisions to strike. “If one day out of the work that we do is such a travesty, then fund us to do the work we do every day, with enough people to do it.”

As with every large-scale protest, there are a number of causes and asks on offer.

David Phillips, station officer for Fire and Emergency NZ, listed off a litany of complaints about short-staffing and underinvestment in the fire service when speaking to the Auckland crowd. “Make no mistake this is absolutely political. Last time we were on strike, it was a Labour government. It’s not about you. This time it’s a National government. It’s not about you. This about all politicians,” he says. “Your systems are broken.”

Meanwhile, New Zealand has its very own protesting frog, seen here with a protesting dinosaur.

It’s dark grey skies and oddly hot gusts in a very quiet Christchurch CBD after the red weather warning saw all outdoor strike protests called off yesterday evening. The gates to the Botanic Gardens have all been locked “due to high winds” and the Bridge of Remembrance, home to many a protest gathering over the years, sits completely empty except for a single tourist in Gortex taking a selfie.

Still, there are pockets of quiet solidarity to be found in the city – placards in the window of family mental health service Whakatata House on Cashel Street read “HEALTH CUTS DON’T HEAL” and “PAY FAIR FOR CARE”. Hanging opposite the PWC building is another: “FIGHT BACK / MARANGA AKE / TOGETHER”.

While speaking to protesters at Aotea Square “in solidarity”, David Phillips and Toby Gwilym were on call, still working. They had planned to march down Queen St as well but were called away to a job. The location of the fire? Queen St.

Meanwhile in Hanmer Springs, Stuff is reporting that around 1,600 people are without power and a fire 5km outside of town is proving difficult for fire services to reach, with many roads blocked off by trees and fallen debris. One local told The Spinoff that there has been “serious punishing going on around town” with downed branches damaging fences, school sports equipment in disarray and some trees appearing to be ripped straight from the ground. Speaking with Stuff, Hurunui Mayor Marie Black advised residents to “stay put where possible”.

The weather has taken a nasty turn in Dunedin, where the blue skies and warm 24 degree winds of this morning have been replaced by grey storm clouds, heavy rain and ferocious gales. There’s a tree down on Portsmouth Drive outside the Edgar Centre, while the strong wind warning remains in the city, with Metservice advising the possibility of squally thunderstorms and hail this evening. I’m sitting in my home office, finding out how bendy the trees in my garden really are. So far, so bendy.

Education, healthcare and support service protesters gathered at Puke Ariki Landing for speeches today, before marching up Devon Street through the city centre.

It’s all over and people are filing out of Te Komititanga. One organiser put the turnout at 20,000+, but that’s a guesstimate based on the fact people were still leaving Aotea Square when the first marchers make it to the square outside Waitematā station. “Usually when that’s the case it’s 20,000 or more,” he says.

However, in true union fashion, The Spinoff understands organisers won’t release official estimates until all are in agreement.

A small selection of signs from today

Do you remember studying El Nino in geography and the information sliding immediately out of your brain? Shanti Mathias spoke to some meteorologists today to have them explain what exactly it is that has caused such catastrophic winds around the country this week.

Read the full explainer here.