A few things happened in February, but it was really a month all about preparing for things to happen soon.  If you’re trying to get a sense of what the impact on your organisation could be, check out the predictions at the bottom of the page.

Here are the noteworthy events from February, summarised with links included for your light reading.

1.  TEU members strike at Yoobee

2.  Awanui Labs ongoing dispute

APEX union members at Awanui Labs have been in collective bargaining since July 2023, and have taken five full strikes over that time.  The union says that senior scientists were paid 33% less than their Te Whatu Ora counterparts.  The parties are seeking assistance from the Employment Relations Authority.

3.  Doctors and Dentists still waiting

Due to ongoing payroll problems, senior hospital doctors and dentists are still waiting on their pay rises agreed in December 2023.  The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists has said that some won’t be paid in full until June.  The agreed term of the collective was one year.

4.  Minimum wage increase

The Coalition Government decided to go for the smallest minimum wage growth in over a decade, but lifting the rate by 2% to $23.15, effective 1 April 2023.  The Act party had campaigned on freezing the rate for the next governmental term. Stuff has released interesting commentary about who is earning the minimum wage.

5.  December quarter labour market stats

Unemployment rates returning to 2019 levels, and the largest annual increase in ordinary-time hourly earnings since 2006, were the key features of the latest information release from Statistics New Zealand. 

6.  Collective bargaining outlook for 2024

It’s a crazy time of year from a collective bargaining standpoint right now.  I have gathered and unpicked some of the key indicators that are pressurising our organisations and people this year.

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