Nurses Take Another Step Towards Fair Pay

Nurses Take Another Step Towards Fair Pay With Historic National Ballot

20,000 members of the New Zealand Nurses Organisation, from the 21 DHBs, start voting tomorrow in a national ballot to determine whether they will unite in national negotiations to achieve a Fair Pay settlement.

NZNO spokesperson Laila Harré said a “yes” vote would mean that nurses and midwives would be united to negotiate a national pay settlement for the first time in 13 years.

“This ballot is a historic next step in New Zealand nurses’ and midwives’ campaign to achieve pay that is comparable to other similar professions in the state sector,” she said.

Laila Harré said while NZNO members voted on whether their DHB would join national bargaining they would also be asked to endorse the two claims of Fair Pay and Safe Staffing levels in our hospitals.

“We know that we have strong public support for these claims, and we have a government that can afford to fund Fair Pay,” she said.

A UMR poll conducted last year showed an overwhelming majority of New Zealanders believe nurses should be paid at least as much as teachers, police and junior doctors .

Laila Harré said a Fair Pay settlement would require additional funding for DHBs, tagged to nurses’ and midwives’ pay.

“The public expects that a government with the biggest ever surplus can afford to pay nurses what they are worth,” she said.

Voting will be conducted in every DHB from May 10th until May 21. The result will be announced on May 24th.

© Scoop Media