Nurses to strike again on August 19

Some nurses on strike in Wellington in June as part of nationwide strike action. Photo: RNZ / Finlay Dunseath.

Nurses have formally declared they will walk off the job again in just over two weeks.

They rejected the latest pay offer by the district health boards last week, and have now issued the DHBs with a notice they intend to strike for eight hours on Thursday, August 19.

Their union, the Nurses Organisation, says managed isolation and quarantine and border workers will not strike, and there will be a life-preserving staff levels in all hospitals.

The action will involve around 30,000 nurses.

The union says nurses are unhappy that the latest contract does not do enough to ensure safe staff levels.

But the DHBs say they are surprised when nurses did not take up the offer.

The DHBs say they want assurances there will be enough emergency cover during the strike.

They say the nurses are only committing to doing their best rather than guaranteeing safe staffing.

In response, the union says they will ensure there are enough nurses to provide live-preserving services.

On Friday Health Minister Andrew Little made a direct appeal via video for more strike action to be called off.

Little says he wants to be very clear that the proposal put to the nurses, is one proposed by the unions, so the deal nurses have rejected is one put to them by their own union.

Last month, the Nurses Organisation union agreed to consider the government's pay offer, but it was rejected in a ballot which closed last Thursday.

The NZNO lifted a notice for a 24-hour strike on July 29-30 so members could consider and vote on an amended offer, but strikes planned for 19 August and 9-10 September would still go ahead if no acceptable deal was received.

Wait says that while the DHBs have made promising moves on pay, the offer contained "too many ambiguities".

-RNZ.

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2 comments

whose worth more MPs or Nurses

Posted on 03-08-2021 08:33 | By hapukafin

hang in there nurses,you deserve it more than our MPs do,dont get pushed around.I will even cancel my next appointment to support you.


@Hapukafin

Posted on 03-08-2021 12:11 | By morepork

100%. Right on. But don't cancel any of your treatment... in the long run, it won't help the nurses and you could be putting yourself at risk.


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