Lower North Island Nurses Settle Agreement

12th June 2002

“68% of Nurses from the following Lower North Island 7 DHBs, Taranaki Healthcare, Hutt Valley Health, Capital & Coast Health, Wairarapa Health, Healthcare Hawkes Bay, Good Health Wanganui, and MidCentral Health have voted in favour of a multi-employer collective agreement,” NZNO Organiser Craig Walsham said.

“The new contract commences from 1st March 2002 and applies to 15th December 2003. The wage movement is in a range of 6% to 2%, with one DHB receiving lump sum payments totalling $1,250.00. In addition, there is an improvement in shift allowances for some members throughout the term of the document. This is the second NZNO negotiated MECA settlement that has been negotiated for Nurses in the public sector. While it is a clear majority that have voted in favour, the strong message coming from the Nurses who attended the stopwork meetings is that a substantial wage increase and improvement in conditions will be required to maintain Nurses goodwill in the future from a newly elected government.” Walsham said.

Also heavy workloads and very low staffing levels have continued to take its toll on nurses’ morale.

It will be crucial that the recommendations from the advisory committee on workforce developments are implemented in order to address Nurses ongoing workload concerns, Walsham concluded.

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