Nurses reject offer, opt to strike
Up to 30,000 nurses and healthcare workers across the country will stop work for 24 hours tomorrow.
Nurses have voted to reject the latest pay offer from District Health Boards, it was announced yesterday, confirming that industrial action will take place from 7am tomorrow for 24 hours.
The New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO), which recommended the latest pay offer to its members, released the outcome of the online ballot at 10am.
NZNO industrial services manager Cee Payne said DHBs requested further facilitation, but because there were no more funds for an improved offer, the union indicated facilitation wouldn’t be appropriate.
However, yesterday morning the Employment Relations Authority ordered the organisation to continue with facilitation starting after lunch yesterday and continuing this morning if needed.
Payne refused to indicate a figure that would encourage nurses to vote against strike action.
The facilitation process is to discuss the issues, and the calculations around cost are developed during the process, she said.
‘‘If there isn’t additional money available to facilitation for a negotiated outcome, we do not believe that will provide the solution to the issues our members are raising that would encourage them to vote in favour of any deal.’’
Payne said NZNO would have to ballot again should there be no shift following the first day of industrial action.
‘‘There may be some rethinking by DHB employers [and] Government about what needs to happen to prevent further additional strikes.’’
The Government and DHBs would need to put additional funding on the table to address the issues nurses had with the latest offer, she said.
Union staff have been working to ensure life preserving services numbers were met during the strike, but Payne said there had been some difficulties.
‘‘In some of these areas the staffing required for the life preserving services are more than what is available to themselves on their roster – they have acknowledged that,’’ she said.
Thousands of hours overtime are propping up some of the rosters in mental health, Payne said.
‘‘There may be some rethinking by DHB employers [and] Government about what needs to happen to prevent further additional strikes.’’
Cee Payne, NZNO