PSA MEDIA RELEASE
October 12, 2007
For Immediate Use

Statistics NZ Staff Step Up Industrial Action

More than 540 staff at Statistics NZ, who belong to the PSA, are stepping up their industrial action.

They stopped working overtime on Sunday September 30. The overtime ban will continue and a series of new actions will start on Sunday. (October 14)

“The new industrial action will disrupt the flow of data that Statistics NZ needs to compile key economic indicators,” says PSA National Secretary, Richard Wagstaff.

These indicators include the Household Labour Force Survey, that measures unemployment. The Food Price Index, that measures food prices every month, and the Consumer Price Index that tracks the rate of inflation.

From 10pm on Sunday (October 14) Statistics NZ field interviewers will start a four day ban on feeding data they’ve gathered, from throughout the country, into the department. The ban will continue
until 10pm on Thursday. (October 18) Normally the field interviewers send the data direct from their lap top computers, or by post or courier, at least once a day.

“They will stop sending that data for four days, which will mean Statistics NZ will have to wait four days before it can begin analysing it,” says Richard Wagstaff. “We believe the department will find it hard to make up that delay because the staff who belong to the PSA have stopped doing overtime.”

“The Statistics NZ staff are stepping up their industrial action to show that they’re serious about their claims,” says Richard Wagstaff. “They’re frustrated that their negotiations have been going on since June and the department refuses to take their claims seriously and negotiate a fair settlement.”

The Statistics NZ staff are claiming the right to negotiate their pay, to hold onto extra leave for long serving staff and for field interviewers to be paid the same as their workmates who do interviews by phone. The field interviewers are paid $3.18 to $4.40 an hour less than phone interviewers for doing the same job.

As well as the field interviewers four day ban on sending data, Statistics NZ’s office staff are also taking new industrial action from next week. On Wednesday (October 17) they will refuse to reply to internal emails from 9am to 5pm. They’ll also start a ban on any meeting that prevents them from taking a half hour lunch break. And they won’t go to new meetings that start before 10am or end after 2pm on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
The key reasons for the industrial action.
• The staff taking action want to be able to negotiate how much they’re paid. Statistics NZ insists that it will determine their pay rates. This is contrary to the Government’s bargaining parameters. The Government expects its departments to negotiate minimum pay rates and to include these in collective employment agreements, which is what the staff are seeking.
• Statistics NZ wants to axe extra annual leave for staff who’ve worked for the department for five years or more. The staff say the department needs to retain the extra leave so it can hold onto skilled and experienced workers.
• Statistics NZ pays its field interviewers, who gather information from people in their homes, $3.18 to $4.40 an hour less than office based staff who interview by phone. This is unfair. The work is the same so the pay should be the same.
• The field interviewers are covered by a separate collective employment agreement. The staff says they should all be covered by the same collective agreement with common core provisions.
• The field interviewers are employed under the Statistics Act, which does not require the department to be a good employer. The rest of the staff are employed under the State Sector Act which does have good employer obligations. The staff say they should all enjoy the extra protection provided by the State Sector Act.

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