Nurses' Pay Settlement Breaks The Mould

Wednesday 12 September 2007

Nurses' Pay Settlement Breaks The Mould

A settlement has been reached in the pay talks with the country's 20,000 nurses and midwives employed by DHBs who are members of NZNO.

Nursing and Midwifery spokesman for the country's 21 District Health Boards, Jim Green - CEO of Tairawhiti DHB in Gisborne - says the deal will see nurses and midwives get pay rises of just under 4% a year over the next three years.

"The settlement is a little more than the average of health sector settlements, but the package of measures we've agreed addresses some of the real long-term workforce issues and workplace practices which will have an effect to improve patient outcomes.

"The collaborative approach to health care that is the hall mark of nurses' and midwives' work was reflected in these negotiations and we were able to avoid the confrontation that has marred other negotiations."

In a change from the traditional adversarial approach to talks, Mr Green says the NZ Nurses' Organisation and DHBs adopted a collegial approach that involved training for both sides on facilitation and problem solving rather than conflict as a way to resolve differences.

"In a time when the health sector has seen a higher than usual level of industrial tension, this settlement is proof that working together constructively delivers better outcomes for all parties."

Mr Green says DHBs and their nursing and midwifery employees share a commitment to improving care for people, developing the workforce and recruitment and retention which was the focus of this year's negotiations.

"That didn't mean our pay talks were free of tension or disagreement, but the quality and maturity of the relationship is measured in how you resolve your differences.

"The negotiations involved a lot of hard work, but we did it together. Neither of us got everything we wanted and we both had to compromise - what we've now agreed is a settlement that is good for nurses, midwives and DHBs but most of all patients."

ENDS

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