‘We’re thinking of future’
Danni Wilkinson, who has been a registered nurse for 15 years, voted for the strike and said nurses were thinking about the future of the healthcare industry.
The 42-year-old, who works in Auckland, said part of the problem was nurses were training here then moving to Australia and other countries where pay is better.
“We cannot afford to keep losing nurses — we are already a projected 1300 or more short, countrywide.”
She said higher pay was important to influence people to enter nursing and midwifery training which in turn helps with more staff. “If we are 1300 short and the DHBs are only offering 500, they really aren’t paying attention to the problem.”
She said safe staffing would save money as burnout and staff turnover cost DHBs $100 million a year.
She hopes for an 18 per cent pay rise and 1500 new nurses, plus pay equity by 2020. — Olivia Fairhurst