Nurses give first strike notice

Nurses have issued their first strike notice after not agreeing with the outcome of salary negotiations.

Additional funding would be required for nurses to accept a revised collective agreement and avoid strike action, the nurses’ union says.

The New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) yesterday issued district health boards (DHBs) with a strike notice for July 5, with another notice for July 12 likely to be issued next week.

A DHBs spokeswoman said health boards would be implementing ‘‘contingency plans to ensure the safety of patients and staff’’ and emergency medical services would still be available during the strike.

It comes after the NZNO announced on Monday its members had ‘‘strongly rejected’’ the DHBs’ latest pay offer. Both parties have said they want to avoid strike action, and mediation is set for tomorrow.

However, whether it can be avoided remains to be seen.

Health Minister David Clark said on Monday the DHBs’ rejected offer, worth more than $500 million, was ‘‘our best offer’’. ‘‘People have to know that that’s the money that’s available and that’s the situation we’re in.’’

NZNO industrial services manager Cee Payne said additional funding was required to settle the dispute and avoid strike action, and the parties needed to approach mediation without predetermined positions.

‘‘In response to the minister, there will be a requirement for additional funding, but we need to be able to explore what that means and what will be required.’’

The NZNO sent out a survey to members on Monday asking what they wanted to see in any revised offer. The response period was to close at 1pm today, but Payne said the union had already received close to 13,000 responses.

‘‘It’s clear that nurses want to be valued, and they want their hospitals and their communities to be safely staffed.’’

The NZNO’s negotiating team would make a decision on whether any revised offer was good enough to present to members following mediation with the DHBs.

DHBs spokeswoman Helen Mason said the health boards would implement ‘‘contingency plans to ensure the safety of patients and staff’’.

The strike should not deter or delay people needing medical attention from going to hospital that day, she said.

The call to strike came after NZNO members voted to reject the DHBs’ revised pay increase offer of 9 per cent for all member nurses by August 2019.

The multi-employer collective agreement (Meca) offer included a $2000 lump sum payment to DHB nurses covered by the NZNO, and doubling their on-call hourly allowance from $4 to $8, and $6 to $10 on public holidays.