Nurses rally for better conditions
A passion for nursing has kept Leonie Metcalfe tending to the sick and injured for more than 40 years.
That same passion drew the 65-year-old out on to the footpath outside Waikato Hospital yesterday.
Metcalfe joined about 200 nurses to demonstrate outside the hospital, demanding better pay and working conditions.
The vocal rally was one of a host of demonstrations organised by the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) throughout the country. Among those waving placards were midwives, orderlies, as well as several doctors.
In March, the NZNO turned down a DHB offer which included a two per cent annual increase in salary, a $1050 lump sum payment, and a commitment to a pay equity settlement no later than July 1, 2019. An independent panel has been tasked with helping overcome the impasse in negotiations between the nursing union and district health boards.
Metcalfe, an enrolled nurse, said it took a lot to get nurses to protest.
‘‘Today is a reflection of how serious the situation has got. The last time I can remember nurses taking this sort of action was about 18 or 19 years ago,’’ she said.
The independent panel’s job will be to come up with a non-binding recommendation, which both parties can take to their members.
The three-member panel is being chaired by Professor Margaret Wilson and will present its recommendation by mid-May. The DHBs are then expected to make an updated offer to the NZNO.
NZNO national delegate Bronwyne Albright, 54, said a lot of nurses were ‘‘freaked out’’ at the thought of taking strike action.
However, the sustainability of nursing as a profession was at stake, Albright said.
Improved pay was only part of the solution to improving nurses’ lot.
‘‘They could give me an extra $50,000 a year but if they don’t increase the number of nurses, then nothing changes,’’ Albright said. ‘‘I earn $32 an hour and I work four shifts a week. I could work more hours but I need that extra time off to recuperate. Because we’re under so much pressure at work, when I go home I just fall asleep. A lot of nurses have this feeling that they can’t have a life outside of their jobs. You constantly feel bad because you think you’ve forgotten something.’’
Albright said nurses worked countless unpaid hours, ensuring their handover notes were up-to-date.
‘‘You frequently don’t have time to do your notes during your shift because you’re too busy but it has to be done before you leave otherwise they can hold it against you as a code of conduct. When you tell them you don’t have time to complete the notes during the shift, you get told you have to improve your time management.’’
Meanwhile, NZNO will receive ballot papers from Monday to decide on possible strike action. In a statement, NZNO industrial services manager Cee Payne said strike action would occur if the independent panel couldn’t overcome the roadblock in negotiations.
The ballot will close on May 25. NZNO must give 14 days’ notice to the DHBs if it votes to strike.
‘‘The commitment to secure safe patient care and a salary structure that incentivize nurses and midwives to remain in the profession has led the [NZNO national delegates] committee to this important decision,’’ Payne said.