NURSES STRIKE

What you need to know

Nurses nationwide will walk off the job today after rejecting the latest pay offer from district health boards (DHBs).

No suitable agreement was reached, so the 24-hour strike will go ahead from 7am.

NZNO industrial services manager Cee Payne said life-preserving services and contingency plans will be in place across the 20 district health boards.

“Patient safety and public safety is paramount,” Payne said.

DHB spokeswoman Helen Mason said it was very disappointed strike action was going ahead.

“We’re waiting to receive the final recommendations from the Employment Relations Authority (ERA)”.

Mason said those recommendations would be taken “very seriously” and it was disappointing NZNO hadn’t waited for those recommendations before deciding on strike action.

The ERA are assessing whether the offer addresses the NZNO’s concerns.

Mason could not say what would happen if the recommendations arrived in the middle of the strike.

“We’re looking at an unprecedented

circumstance for the country. Not having 70 per cent of your workforce in the workplace will be a significant challenge.

“We need to understand what the recommendations are and we need to consider those recommendations and that will inform what our next actions are,” Mason said.

The Government had hoped lastminute talks between district health boards and nurses would avert strike action today.

Acting Prime Minister Winston Peters said the Government was disappointed

nurses had voted to reject the latest pay offer and walk off the job for 24 hours.

“We need the public to be prepared. We’ve made all the steps possible we can to ensure there is the least amount of sacrifice, or medical difficulty, with respect to potential patients,” Peters said.

All NZNO members striking will walk out of hospitals and join the picket outside.

The rallies for Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington begin at 7am outside the main hospitals.