Justice staff resume strike

Ministry of Justice staff from courts and tribunals resumed strike action today after pay talks last week failed.

The staff were members of the Public Service Association (PSA) which failed to agree on a new pay offer from the ministry at mediation last week.

The ministry offered a one-off lump sum payment of $750, which would have been about $500 in the hand after tax, PSA national secretary Richard Wagstaff said.

"Clearly a one-off payment of $500 in the hand does not address the fact that justice staff pay rates are on average 6.3 per cent lower than the rest of the public service."

This morning's strike began at 8.55am and would run for two hours.

Staff would also resume a ban on overtime and would all take their breaks at the same time, rather than staggering them, disrupting services.

Pay talks first stalled in October, and staff staged an all day strike on November 16.

- NZPA