New Zealand public servants walk off job over pay offer

Nearly 10,000 New Zealand public servants walked off the job for several hours on Wednesday, adding to pressure on a government confronting a weak urban economy and middle-income households strained by high living costs ahead of an election in about two months.





The stoppages at several major government agencies disrupted services including employment and social housing support and came as workers rejected wage offers they say would leave them worse off in real terms.



Protests were also held across the country and several hundred public sector workers gathered near the country's parliament, waving union flags and chanting “When workers' rights are under attack, stand up, fight back.”



Kate Hamilton, a union representative, told the crowd that the pay offer was not sufficient to offset the increases in the cost of living.



New Zealand’s Labour Party and former prime minister Chris Hipkins along with Green Party lawmaker Julie Anne Genter spoke at the rally, expressing solidarity with the plight of the public sector workers.