Fleur Fitzsimons: PSA National Secretary on the Government lifting Crown body board members' pay

The Public Service Association says lifting public sector board member paychecks is total hypocrisy. 

A quietly-released Cabinet paper reveals annual governance board chair fees have jumped from up to $90,000, to more than $160,000.

PSA National Secretary Fleur Fitzsimons says this decision comes from the same leaders who cancelled pay equity claims and offered meagre minimum-wage increases.

"It's astonishing from a Government that was elected on addressing the cost of living crisis - and it seems for low-income workers and middle-income workers, this Government is nowhere to be seen."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Heller duper see Allen heither the Aussie wallerby actually threw
a late Hollywood. He threw his arms in the air
just a little bit too late year. I agree with
that a little bit, Murray, actually just i'd a little
bit agree with that. Nineteen past five. Now the government
is copping a bit of heat a for hiking the
pay of the Public Service Board members. Cabinet agreed on
Monday they would do it. They were going to increase
the maximum fee by eighty percent so the heads of

(00:22):
the board can now a receiver a maximum of one
hundred and sixty two thousand dollars a year, up from
the ninety k they previously got. Now f fluurforit. Simons
is the national secretary for the Public Service Association, and
with us, Hey Flur, hello, you don't like this.

Speaker 2 (00:37):
Look the hypocrisy in this is palpable. This is the
same government that increased the minimum wage by a mere
f thirty five cents. It is the same government that
canceled pay equity claims, including for low income women like
care and support workers, many of whom are now back
on the minimum wage. They also banned those same women

(00:58):
from raising pay equity claims tomorrow We've got thousands of
nurses going on strike because they're worried about safe staffing levels.
It's astonishing from a government that was elected on addressing
the cost of living crisis, and it seems the low
income workers and middle income workers this government is nowhere
to be seen.

Speaker 1 (01:16):
I get your points, and I think some of them
are fair flurt. But in in terms of actually getting excellence,
you've got to pay for excellence if you want it
on a board, right, So do you do you object
to this idea in and of itself? No?

Speaker 2 (01:29):
Look, and I think it's very telling that you've got
Judith Collins coming out and saying, look, we've got to
pay a decent amount to attract people into these roles,
while the same applies to our health system. We've got
workforce shortages all over the health system. Our members are
telling us that rosters are unfilled. There's an effect of
hiring freeze. It's a big argument within a hospital to

(01:49):
get roles replaced. So the government should take its own
advice and apply it to when New Zealanders want it
to be applied, which is in our health system which
is crying out for more staff.

Speaker 1 (02:00):
Flur Thank you for your time flu for Simon's PSA
National Secretary.

Speaker 2 (02:04):
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