2025 membership fee increase

The new fee will apply from 1 March 2025.

Associate and Student fees remain unchanged.

If your employer deducts your membership directly from your pay:

You do not need to do anything. We will be letting your employer's payroll team know and they will make the adjustment.

If you pay your membership fee by Direct Debit:

The PSA Membership Team will send you a follow up email to provide more detail on updating your direct debit arrangements.

If you pay your membership fee by automatic payment:

You will need to update the amount from 1 March 2025 via your internet banking or by contacting your bank directly.

The Executive Board decided to increase fees to ensure the union has the resources to keep advocating for you and other members during one of the most hostile political and industrial environments in decades.

It is PSA policy to adjust fees every two years to reflect factors such as inflation over that time. The last subscription increase was in March 2023. Like everyone else, the PSA has faced rising costs since then.

While the union has kept a tight control of expenses, these measures alone are not enough to ensure we have the resources we need to be effective in these inflationary times.

The decision to raise fees has not been made lightly. The Executive Board is all too aware that many members are facing cost of living pressures and high levels of uncertainty about their futures.

At the same time, the Executive Board needs to ensure the union has the resources to keep advocating for you and other members during one of the most hostile political and industrial environments in decades.

The fee increase is vital to ensuring the PSA remains in the best position to represent you and all members in these challenging times. Delaying a fee increase now would only mean we would need a much bigger increase later on. The PSA policy is for regular two-yearly smaller fee increases.

The bands are adjusted in line with the increase in wages over the past two years to make sure pay rises alone don't push members into a higher band. For instance, the increase in the minimum wage would see some workers move from band 2 to band 3 if the thresholds were not adjusted.

Your membership fee is calculated using your pre-tax (gross) annual salary (not including overtime or other additional payments).

Member fees give you access to the benefits you receive from being a PSA member. They also fund the work the PSA undertakes on behalf of members, including:

• Representing members on issues involving their collective employment interests.
• Negotiating Collective Employment Agreements.
• Representing members’ individual rights as employees.
• Giving advice and assistance on the rights and obligations of employers and employees.
• Providing support for members, through:
  • Te Roopu Tohutohu Manaaki, the PSA's member advice and support centre.
  • The PSA Delegate Network. Your delegate can provide support and connect you to your Organiser if required.
  • PSA Organisers, who help resolve workplace issues, and can support members with personal grievances through to mediation.
  • Our legal team, which provides legal advice to Organisers and represents members in legal forums.
• Representing members in the event of a dispute or personal grievance.

In the past two years the PSA has been active on behalf of members in a range of activities including:

• Negotiating and settling about 200 collective agreements since April 2023.
• Mounting high-profile media and social media campaigns to highlight the impact of government cuts on public, community, health and local government services, and the members who deliver these services.
• Supporting delegates and members to make submissions on change proposals, which has helped save jobs.
• Initiating industrial action when necessary to support bargaining.
• Championing flexible working arrangements.
• Successfully advocating for retaining allowances that recognise skills in Te Reo Māori and tikanga Māori across the public sector.
• Taking legal action in support of members' rights.
• Alongside other unions, we've kept advocating for pay equity for care sector workers.
• Continuing to press for closing the gender and ethnic pay gaps.
• Working with other unions and the Council of Trade Unions to ensure the voice of workers is heard in the review of health and safety legislation.
• Opposing proposed Holiday Act changes to pro-rata sick leave for part time workers – changes that would disadvantage thousands of part-time care and support workers.
• Being an active foundation member of the Save Science Coalition, which opposes cuts to science funding and the loss of science roles.

If you have queries about the increases not covered by these FAQs, you can email these to fees@psa.org.nz.