The health risk from National’s IR policies

30 August 2005

The health risk from National’s IR policies

Nurses and other health workers have benefited from the current Labour-led government’s industrial relations policies, strengthening the health workforce in a way that improves the health system for all New Zealanders,” said New Zealand Nurses organisation spokeswoman Laila Harré today.

Laila Harré said that while public hospital nurses’ had to fight for their fair pay settlement, they could not have done that without the Employment Relations Act and under National’s alternative.

“Our Employment Relations Act bargaining rights are worth fighting for because we will need them to win pay parity for nurses and health workers from primary health and aged care,” she said.

Laila Harré said Labour’s commitment to it’s current IR policies was important.

“Nurses are very concerned that National wants to turn the clock back to the failed IR policies of the 90s, an era when the ECA forced down health workers’ wages and conditions,” she said.

Laila Harré there was still a lot to do to fix the problems in the health workforce and NZNO members were actively campaigning for parity in primary health and aged care.

“We need laws supporting collective bargaining to achieve this,” she said.

“We also need to finish many jobs we’ve started under the Labour-led government – jobs like achieving safe staffing in public hospitals, presently being addressed through a joint safe staffing inquiry.”

ENDS

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