Mega Strike in New Zealand Demands Funding for Public Services, Raises

New Zealand’s streets filled with nurses, doctors, teachers, healthcare assistants, public workers, and firefighters on October 23 in a massive one-day strike demanding that the government fully fund public services. In all, some 100,000 workers took part in the action—making it the largest strike New Zealand has seen since its first and only general strike in 1979. “Defining moment in our history” was the headline in the New Zealand Herald, the country’s most important newspaper. Many schools were closed—the strike took place on a Thursday—and medical procedures put on hold.