Thousands of workers from both the public and private sector gathered across the country to protest what they describe as the government's anti-worker agenda and cuts to public service sector.
The nationwide hui - Fight Back Together - was organised by unions in response to recent policy reforms such as the scrapping of fair pay agreements, and reintroduction of 90-day trials. About 4500 people attended in Wellington, while an estimated 1000 showed up for the Auckland event, with others held elsewhere.
Council of Trade Unions (CTU) president Richard Wagstaff said the first year of the coalition government had been an unrelenting attack on workers' rights and conditions.
Workers were not going to take the changes lying down, Wagstaff said, speaking at the Parliament grounds.
Richard Wagstaff addresses the crowd at the Fight Back Together protest in Wellington Photo: RNZ/Bill Hickman
"We need this government to understand that what they're doing really is hurting people, and people aren't going to accept it as thought it has to be that way. We know there's an alternative, and we are going to be pushing hard for that alternative," he said.
More than 2000 public service jobs were cut in the six months from December to June. Meanwhile, nearly 7000 jobs have been cut across the public sector.
Public Service Association (PSA) Assistant Secretary Fleur Fitzsimons said the government's "destructive dismissal of public service roles is hurting families and the country".
The large turnouts at protests across the country showed a ground swell of opposition to the government's policies, she said.
Victoria University worker Ti Lamusse, who joined the protest at Parliament today, said the government needed to take notice of that opposition.
As education funding decreased, pay for his fellow staff had not kept up with inflation, he said.
"I've got lots of colleagues who aren't even earning a living wage, so the fact that our minimum wage isn't keeping up is not good enough.
"This government really needs to get a clear message from us as working people that it's not good enough, so that's why there were thousands of us today saying actually, we are going to stick up for our rights."
It felt "amazing" to be among so many people determined to stand up for workers rights, Lamusse said.
In response to the Fight Back Together protest, minister for workplace relations and safety Brooke van Velden said the government reforms would help, not hinder, workers and access to job opportunities.
The government wanted to deliver more efficient and effective public services and made no apologies for it, she said.
A protester at parliament grounds today says the government needs to take notice of the large number of people who oppose their policies.
Protesters gather in Auckland's Aotea Square. Photo: RNZ/Eloise Gibson
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