What next for nurses’ strike plan?

About 27,000 district health board nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants who are members of the New Zealand Nurses Organisation were receiving strike ballots in the post from yesterday. What is their timetable? A: The ballot is open for 30 days, closing no later than 5pm on Friday, May 25. Members can vote online or by post. Should the majority of those who return ballots vote to strike, NZNO has to give the DHBs 14 days’ notice of its intention to strike. When would any strikes be? A: NZNO said the timetable meant the date of a possible strike would be early July. It has told its members there would be two strikes of 24 hours each, starting at 7am. The proposal is that the strikes be a week apart.

What happens to the DHBs if there is a strike?

A: NZNO says that as soon as the DHBs receive a notice of strike action they would have to develop a contingency plan and take all reasonable and practicable steps to ensure continued provision of essential or life preserving services. NZNO industrial services manager Cee Payne said nurses were responsible and professional and would be concerned to ensure adequate life preserving services would be available if there was a strike. What did the DHBs offer? A: The new multi employer collective agreement (MECA) would have covered the period from August 2017 to July 2019. Most NZNO members would have received a 2 per cent increase from November 6, 2017, except for those on the designated senior nurse and midwifery salary scale, who would receive 4 per cent. There would have been a second 2 per cent pay rise from August 6, 2018. The DHBs also offered a $1050 pro rata lump sum payment. What do the nurses want? A: An agreement that values nurses and midwives, and provides sufficient assurance that urgent action is taken to address unsafe staffing.

Is anything else happening to try to break the impasse?

A: In late March, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern suggested an independent panel be set up to try to break through the barriers to a settlement. The idea was accepted by the NZNO and DHBs. A threemember panel chaired by Professor Margaret Wilson is in the process of receiving submissions from both parties. The panel is due to make its final recommendations by mid-May, after which the DHBs will make an updated offer.