Last-ditch talks to avert nurses’ strike action
Health boards make plans to keep essential services
Amediation meeting tomorrow is the last chance to avoid a nurses’ strike next month.
Nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants covered by the New Zealand Nursing Organisation’s (NZNO) collective agreement yesterday issued a strike notice for 24 hours starting 7am, on July 5.
Notice for a second 24-hour strike on July 12 is expected next week.
District health boards spokeswoman Helen Mason says DHBs will do everything they can to settle the agreement and avoid the strikes.
They will go into mediation with the union tomorrow but in the meantime are working on contingency plans.
On Monday, NZNO members voted to reject the DHBs’ revised pay offer of 9 per cent for all member nurses by August 2019.
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters said the Government had not given up. “We hope they can see the wisdom of this deal in our first Budget.”
He said the pay offer was the biggest in 14 years and far more than previous advances from the National Party. “We’ve made it very clear that we understand their situation, there are other ways they can cut the deal of the $500 million plus the extra 500 nurses.”
Peters said he was disappointed but the Government was trying to pick up years of underfunding which was not possible in one Budget.
Health Minister David Clark said although the announcement was not unexpected it was still disappointing.
“The Government has done all it can to avoid this strike by doubling the offer to half a billion dollars, including providing for 500 extra nurses to deal with shortages.
“We understand nurses’ frustration after nine years of neglect under the previous Government but had hoped our offer, the best offered to nurses in 14 years, would be seen as the good start it represents to fixing those issues.”
An Auckland DHB spokeswoman said it could not specify how many operations and consultations would be deferred as a result of the strikes at this stage.
Chief executive Ailsa Claire said it would be able to maintain only essential services during the strike and many outpatient clinics would close. “We will still provide services defined as life preserving, and this includes some essential outpatient services such as cancer treatments.
“We ask that patients come to their scheduled appointment unless we have contacted them directly to say their appointment is being rescheduled,” Claire said.
Capital and Coast DHB hospital and healthcare services general manager Chris Lowry said like all DHBs it would experience staffing gaps and would need to prioritise essential and acute services.
“We will also be assessing our inpatients to see whether it is clinically appropriate to discharge them. If not, they will remain in hospital.”
Patients can expect to hear from CCDHB by June 27 about whether they are affected. Watch video at nzherald.co.nz