Month-long strike action by Department of Corrections
psychologists who deal with violent and sexual offenders
starts today (Mon 16 Nov) in support of bargaining for their
collective.
“The 160 psychologists carry out highly
specialised work with significant public safety
responsibilities,” Public Service Association Te Pūkenga
Here Tikanga Mahi National Secretary Duane Leo
said.
“Despite this level of responsibility, they are
paid substantially less than psychologists in comparable
public sector roles, including Oranga Tamariki Youth
Justice.
“Currently they are being paid 20% or more
less than comparable roles. They want a pay offer that
reflects the complexity of their work and closes the gap,”
Leo said.
“This difference in pay is making it hard to
recruit psychologists for the important work of
rehabilitating high risks prisoners. As a result,
Corrections has to contract in private practice
psychologists at much higher rates than the department pays
its own staff.
“The private contractors have all been
previously employed by Corrections, through which they have
received training and experience. Corrections psychologists
are leaving to work in private practice or in better paid
roles at other public sector agencies.
“This means
there is a loss of institutional knowledge within
Corrections, not to mention the extra costs of paying for
private contractors” Leo said.
“As well as the
valuable work rehabilitating high risk sexual and violent
offenders, Corrections psychologists also prepare risk
assessments for the Parole Board, and work on official
correspondence,” Leo said.
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The strike action by
Corrections psychologists will see them not taking on new
cases, stop completing risk assessments and working on OIAs
and Privacy Act requests.
The psychologists initiated
bargaining with Corrections on 1 May 2026, after they
settled with a 0% increase in 2025. Their last increase in
pay was in 2023, leading to three years’ worth of pay cuts
in real terms. They have seen a total of seven years of pay
rises well below inflation rates. Their pay equity claim was
one of 33 discontinued when the Government changed the pay
equity legislation in May 2025.
The employer’s
current pay offer was again well below inflation rates and
did not address the pay discrepancy issues. It was
comprehensively rejected by psychologists, who then voted
overwhelmingly to take strike
action.
