More than 10,000 workers, including PSA members, gathered across the motu to fight back together against government cuts to public, health and community services and attacks on Te Tiriti.
PSA members stood shoulder to shoulder with workers from other unions at hui in Whangārei, Auckland, Manukau, Hamilton, Mt Maunganui, New Plymouth, Palmerston North, Wellington, Nelson, Greymouth, Christchurch, Dunedin and Invercargill.
Read our media release about the hui
Check out our social media for photos and videos from around the motu:
Our pre-hui information is below:
On Wednesday 23 October, we’re asking you to join with union members across Aotearoa to join a mass hui and Fight Back Together for workers’ rights and honouring Te Tiriti.
PSA members come to work to make a difference. Community, local government and public services keep Aotearoa running and ensure we all get the support we need, rather than only those who can afford to pay.
Government cuts and unprecedented attacks on the services we provide are doing long term damage and risk eroding public faith in these services. The assault on Te Tiriti has led to an unprecedented number of Waitangi Tribunal claims against the government.
We’ve stood together against the attacks through the media, at the courts, and on the streets. Almost a year into their term it’s clear we need to step up our resistance.
Put 23 October in your diary, and organise your friends, workmates and whānau to be there.
Hui are happening in:
|
Area |
Venue |
Event Time |
|
Whangārei |
Laurie Hall Park |
12-1pm |
|
Auckland |
Aotea Square |
12-1pm |
|
Manukau City |
1 Osterley Way (outside Friendship house) |
12-1pm |
|
Hamilton |
Garden Place |
12-1pm |
|
Mt Maunganui |
Hopukiore (Mount Drury) Reserve |
1-2pm |
|
New Plymouth |
Huatoki Plaza |
12-1pm |
|
Palmerston North |
Arena 5, Waldegrave Street |
12.30-1.30pm |
|
Wellington |
Parliament |
1-2pm |
|
Nelson |
Trafalgar Centre |
1.30-2.30pm |
|
Greymouth |
Regent Theatre |
3.30-4.30pm |
|
Christchurch |
Bridge of Remembrance |
12.30-1.30pm |
|
Dunedin |
Octagon – Upper |
12-1pm |
|
Invercargill |
Greenspace – cnr Elles Road & Tay Sts |
2-3pm |
Keep an eye on this page. We'll add details, resources and information as they become available.
As union members we know our strength is in our unity and our numbers. That’s why it’s so important for you to be there 23 October.
LET US KNOW YOU'RE COMING THROUGH THE NZCTU
Transport
If you can, organise with your friends, workmates and whānau to take sustainable transport to and from the hui. Do a walking bus, take the bus or train together, or carpool.
Wellington walking buses
If you work in Wellington central city, there might be a walking bus you can join with PSA members! Check out the details.
Palmerston North walking buses
Two walking buses will move through Palmerston North CBD to the local hui. One is leaving from the UCOL campus on Princess Street, the other is leaving from the Waka Kotahi – NZTA office on The Square. The two walking buses will meet at around 12.15pm at the lights on Cuba and Walding streets (opposite Chinatown Restaurant).
Please feel free to join in if you see them. You can’t miss them; they will be flying flags and signs high. Look out for the marshals in Maranga Ake Hi-Vis vests.
Accessibility information
Visit our dedicated accessibility information page for more information. We're updating this page as we get more information.
Follow us on social media for updates
We'll share event details and updates on our social media channels:
Your right to attend
We support your right to be politically active. You can do so safely by ensuring you familiarise yourself with and follow your agency's code of conduct.
When you are expressing personal political views remember to ensure you avoid:
- identifying yourself with your work, including wearing logos, lanyards or uniforms associated with your work
- giving the impression you’re giving the view of your agency when it’s your own view
- revealing advice given to Ministers/Councillors that is not public
- disclosing information from your work which is not public
- criticising government policy you have been professionally involved with
- using your employer's resources, e.g. email, printer, or your work-provided devices to share, like or comment on PSA social media posts
- associating your work with personal posts on social media – including professional networking sites like LinkedIn.
If you work for the Public Service, State Sector, or Te Whatu Ora, your rights are codified in the Public Service Act 2020. Te Kawa Mataaho | Public Service Commission website contains guidelines you may find useful.
If you need any further advice, please contact your PSA delegate or organiser.
FAQs
If this page doesn't answer your question, ask your PSA delegate or organiser. If you still need help, email Te Roopu Tohutohu Manaaki or call them on 0508 367 772 (available Monday – Friday between 8:45am and 5:00pm).
The Fight Back Together | Maranga Ake day of action is organised by the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU). As an NZCTU affiliate, the PSA supports fighting back against the Government's attacks on workers and Te Tiriti.
We’ve stood together against the attacks through the media, at the courts, and on the streets. Almost a year into their term it’s clear we need to step up our resistance.
We know mobilisations like this are effective. Christopher Luxon and his coalition Government have been rocked more than once in their first year by communities turning out for what they believe in.
Fight Back Together has the potential to send a clear message we stand against the Government’s extreme anti-worker and anti-Te Tiriti policies. And we stand in solidarity for a flourishing Aotearoa that rests on the foundation of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and honours workers’ rights and well resourced public, health, community, and local government services.
The most important thing you can do is come to a hui on the day. Put it in your diary now and organise workmates, friends and whānau to show your support.
Contact your local delegate for organiser and volunteer help prepare for your local action.
To make our presence as visible as possible we are developing banners and placards for the event and stocking up on PSA flags. Local union members will hold placard painting sessions. We will update you on these sessions once details have been finalised.
And keep an eye on this page for resources that you can share to help hype up the event.
The PSA is fully supporting the October 23 hui across the motu, alongside other unions.
Each union has made its own decision about the best way its members can participate.
The PSA Board decided that given our large size (more than 95,000+ members) and geographic spread of our membership across multiple worksites it was not practical to call paid stop work all-of-union meetings.
So we are putting our efforts into mobilising members who can feasibly attend rallies in their lunch breaks.
Check out our Fight Back Together resources for sign templates you can use to show you're standing together with union members across Aotearoa.
The advice from Te Kawa Mataaho | Public Service Public Commission is that public servants are free to use social media in their private lives, in the same way as other citizens. The Standards of Integrity and Conduct, political neutrality obligations and your agency policies apply to all media communications outside work as with other forms of communication. There must be a clear separation between public servants’ work role and their personal use of media.
Members are advised to avoid using work-provided devices to share PSA social media posts to ensure compliance with Te Kawa Mataaho/ Public Service Commission advisory for a clear separation between public servants’ work role and their personal use of social media.
Yes! Bring out your whānau, your workmates, your friends – anyone who can make it. We're stronger when we stand together.
Resources
Resources for your sector
We've created posters and flyers suited for the sector you work in:
I work in the Public Service/State Sector
I work in mental health, disability or home support services
Resources for if you can't make it to a hui
Can't make it to a hui in-person? All good, here's how you can fight back on October 23:
Use our sign templates to show you're standing together with union members across Aotearoa.
Download the blank and pre-filled sign templates in portrait
Download the blank sign template in landscape
You could:
- Take a photo of yourself with a sign showing what you're fighting back for
- Organise a group photo with others at your workplace or in your team with signs
- Bring people together for a shared lunch or morning tea during break times and make the Fight Back Together Maranga Ake kaupapa your own
- Get creative! There could be something special your team wants to do together to show your support.
Take your photos landscape if you can! Make sure to tag us on Instagram (@nz_psa) and Facebook (@nzpsa). These photos will help demonstrate just how strong our movement is. They're a chance to speak with others at work – union members or not – about the attacks on workers, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and public and community services.
Remember – most PSA members can't use workplace equipment for personal political views so be sure to ask your delegate or Organiser, or print yours at home.
