Midwives Right to Strike Being Strangled
Statement from the NZ College of Midwives. To be attributed to Chief Executive, Karen Guilliland.
The New Zealand College of Midwives is extremely disappointed in the actions of the Bay of Plenty DHB demanding more
midwives work during the daily two hour strike periods, than would normally be required.
The BoP DHB says the numbers are needed to provide Life Preserving Services (LPS) and yet this DHB does not require that
same number of midwives on the same shifts outside strike periods. As there is not the number of midwives available to
work those two hours, this DHB is essentially removing the midwives’ legal right to strike. Midwives are striking to
address concerns about better midwifery resourcing to ensure the safety of our women and babies – and yet this and some
other DHBs continue to play a game with that safety.
Striking is a last-ditch attempt to get DHBs to understand that maternity hospitals are the emergency department for
maternity services. Hospital Midwives triage and provide the acute and emergency service for women and babies and this
must always be staffed appropriately to be effective. The New Zealand College of Midwives remains confident that
midwives were providing LPS during the rolling strikes.
The whole point of the midwives’ strike action is to point out to all of the DHBs that the current staffing ratios are
not safe. The BoP DHB, by its actions, now seems to be agreeing that they need more midwives than they usually have on
duty each shift if safety is to be achieved.
The College strongly encourages the DHBs to address MERAS’s concerns, and support and talk to their midwives to find
resolution. Appropriate funding of our maternity services and improved pay and conditions for midwives will ensure our
world-leading maternity service continues to be able to deliver the excellent outcomes it does for our women and babies.
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