Over 100,000 New Zealanders protest pay, working conditions

By Saadet Gokce

ISTANBUL (AA) - More than 100,000 workers protested across New Zealand on Thursday in a nationwide strike over pay and working conditions, marking the country’s largest labor action in 40 years.

Striking workers included doctors, dentists, nurses, social workers, and primary and secondary school teachers, among others, according to Radio New Zealand (RNZ).

Several rallies had to be cancelled due to the severe weather on the South Island and lower North Island.

In the city of Auckland, on the North Island, thousands of protesters gathered in Aotea Square for speeches and a march.

Green Party co-leader Chloe Swarbrick blasted what she called the government’s "embarrassing" characterization of the protest as politically motivated.

"Of course this is political. Politics is about power and it's about resources and it's about who gets to make decisions that saturate and shape our daily lives," she said.

In Hamilton, an inland city on the North Island, an estimated 10,000 people joined the rally.

Chloe Wilshaw-Sparkes, regional chair of the New Zealand Post Primary Teachers' Association, said teachers are on strike because the offers from the government were not good enough.