A major PSA survey has revealed worrying signs of strain in the public service, with more than one in four workers saying they’re considering leaving New Zealand for higher pay overseas. Among younger staff under 25, that number climbs sharply to nearly half.
Of the 7,600 members who took part in the survey, respondents were asked whether they agreed or strongly agreed that they were considering leaving New Zealand in search of better pay abroad.
According to Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi, “Nearly half of workers under 25 are thinking about packing their bags.”
This includes nurses, social workers, corrections officers, and home support workers, people who are meant to be the backbone of New Zealand’s public services going forward.
“Instead they’re looking to Australia, where they’ll be paid thousands more and treated with respect.”
“A mental health nurse starting on $77,000 in New Zealand can earn the equivalent of $93,000 in Melbourne. A prison officer starting on $70,000-$80,000 here can earn the equivalent of $97,000 in Victoria.
“We represent 8,000 home support workers who look after our most vulnerable people who were crushed when the government betrayed them and cancelled their pay equity claim.”
“About a quarter of them are thinking about leaving for Australia, where they would earn between $6 and $10 more per hour for the same work, with better conditions and allowances.”
“Behind these survey numbers sit thousands of stories of lost potential. These are people educated in New Zealand who have developed critical skills and experience – scientists, care workers, meat inspectors, health professionals, and corrections staff. Once they’re gone, that expertise walks out the door and may never come back,” Fitzsimons said.
For Fitzsimons, the government can’t simply fill these shortages by hiring from overseas while local pay rates remain well behind. If the system underpays its own workers, it becomes much harder to attract skilled people from other countries.
“The government cannot plug these gaps by recruiting from overseas when our pay rates are so far behind. You can’t underpay your own workforce and then expect to attract talent from abroad.”
“This government’s priorities are crystal clear – tax breaks for big tobacco, landlords and businesses while the workers who keep our hospitals running, protect vulnerable children and deliver frontline services are left feeling they have no future here.”