CYFS Workers Picket CYFS Workers Picket

Tuesday 25 October 2005

>

“Child Youth and Family (CYF) staff picketed the newly opened Youth Justice Facility at Rolleston outside Christchurch today,” Lynda Boyd NUPE Organiser said, “National Union of Public Employees (NUPE) members form the majority of staff who work at the new unit, which opened on Tuesday, and were part of a nationwide strike of three hundred CYF workers who were striking in support of their pay claim”.

“Members in Wellington demonstrated outside parliament and striking workers in Auckland and Hawkes Bay rallied outside their workplaces,” said Lynda Boyd.

“NUPE members are striking for better wages. Social workers in CYF have been offered less than their colleagues in the health sectors and administrative and clerical workers have been made an offer that does not even match the rate of inflation,” said Lynda Boyd.

“At a time when the State Services Commission is talking about pay hikes for public service Chief Executives it is ironic that workers dealing with some of the most vulnerable and challenging people in our society have to take strike action to try and get a decent pay rise. It’s wrong when frontline workers earning between $10.60 and $12.60 are being offered rises of 3% at a time when public sector CEOs are getting salary increases of 15%” said Lynda Boyd

“The strike will continue tomorrow with pickets and rallies planned nationwide. There will be a mass picket of Care and Protection South at Kingslea at noon tomorrow,” said Lynda Boyd.

ENDS

© Scoop Media