DHBs double pay rise offer to nurses

District health boards yesterday offered nurses three 3 per cent pay rises over the next 18 months in a bid to avert strike action.

DHBs spokeswoman Helen Mason says they have doubled their offer to nurses to settle pay negotiations.

The offer was a significant increase going beyond the recommendations of the independent panel proposed by the Prime Minister, Mason said.

The offer is a quarter-billion dollars more than the previous offer.

The offer will invest $520 million between now and 2020 for base pay increases, more staff, and improving working conditions, she said.

Everybody will get three pay rises over the next 18 months.

The offer will increase Nurses Organisation members’ base salary — the salary of a registered nurse with five years of experience will go up about $10,500 over 18 months.

“That’s almost $200 extra a week by the end of 2019,” Mason said.

“On top of that they’ll also get increases in on-call rates. By December 2019 the average take-home pay of a full-time experienced registered nurse will be around $93,000 a year.”

A $2000 lump sum on top of the base pay rises has also been offered.

The Health Ministry will give an extra $48m to find more nurses and measures to ensure safe staff levels.

The pay rises consist of the 3 per cent rise next month, 3 per cent in August, and 3 per cent in August 2019.

The on-call allowance will increase from $4.04 to $8, and from $6.06 to $10 for public holidays.

Mason said she was “really optimistic” the offer would be accepted and strike action would not be carried out.

A former nurse and midwife herself, she said DHBs wanted to reassure their workers that they are valued.

Cee Payne of the Nurses Organisation said it would not comment until members had received its analysis of the revised offer on Thursday.

Earlier yesterday about 27,000 nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants voted to strike for two full days in July if the DHBs did not give them an acceptable offer.