Court staff are taking rolling strike action on Monday, aiming for maximum disruption and leaving some courts without front-line workers.
The industrial action has varied at the different courts throughout New Zealand as a dispute over pay continues.
The court staff are members of the Public Service Association and most of the 1700 workers took strike action from 9am, giving no indication of when they would return.
PSA national secretary Richard Wagstaff says the strikes follow unsatisfactory mediation with the Ministry of Justice last week.
The union says staff will continue to take industrial action at random times throughout the week in protest at the way the ministry has tried to discredit workers' claims.
The ministry has not made any comment on Monday's action.
