The arbitration outcome for Police Constabulary is fair and appropriate and must influence pay offers to public servants still waiting on a fair pay offer from this government.
“Police do vital work keeping New Zealanders safe, and a pay rise of 3.1 percent starts to recognise their important work and the cost-of-living pressures facing them,” said Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi.
“They’re not the only publicly funded workers holding this country together. Thousands of public servants whose collective agreements have expired have been offered pay rises well below what other publicly funded workers have accepted.
“These families are already struggling with soaring power and fuel bills; they need a fair pay rise.”
Ten thousand public servants from Internal Affairs, MBIE, MSD, the National Emergency Management Agency, and the Ministry for Ethnic Communities walked off the job last month in protest at current offers.
“We have already had one strike of over 10,000 public servants and more will follow if offers do not improve.
“These are workers who process passports so Kiwis can travel and families can reunite. They run the immigration services that bring in the workers and skills our economy needs. They keep children safe online, and they lead our response when floods and earthquakes strike. And they support families doing it tough, and elderly and disabled New Zealanders.
“Police’s opening offer was effectively a miserly 0.6%. An independent arbitrator has now confirmed that’s nowhere near good enough.
“The Government can’t value some groups of publicly funded workers so differently to others, all face rising costs.
“Ministers keep cutting jobs and holding down wages while expecting fewer people to do more. That is driving experienced staff out the door. When they leave, it’s New Zealanders who wait longer and get less.
“This result should set the bar. It’s time the Government recognised and rewarded all public servants for the work they do and put a fair offer on the table.”
Previous statement
1 September 2026: 10,000 public servants to strike on 9 September
