GPNZ Backs New Pay Equity Claim To Deliver The Same Fairness Won By Te Whatu Ora Nurses

General Practice New Zealand (GPNZ) will stand firmly behind any work required to prepare and lodge a new pay equity claim for primary care nurses to ensure the nurses in our sector are valued on par with their hospital-employed colleagues.

Last week, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden announced unexpected amendments to the Equal Pay Act. These changes halted all current claims, including those lodged by the New Zealand Nurses Organisation Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa (NZNO) covering primary care nurses, along with claims for aged care, hospice, Plunket, community health, and laboratories.

“We had anticipated that this claim would ultimately lead to a fair and equitable pay structure for primary care nurses, so it is deeply disappointing and frustrating to see this move,” says Michael McIlhone, Chair of the GPNZ nurse leaders rōpū.”

The legislative amendments introduce stricter eligibility criteria and limit the use of comparators. Critically, this means the historic 2023 pay equity settlement for Te Whatu Ora-employed nurses can no longer be used as a benchmark for new claims.

“The pay equity settlement for hospital nurses was long overdue and we fully endorsed it,” says McIlhone. “But it has deepened the disparity with nurses working in primary and community care, creating a pay gap of approximately 10 to 25 per cent. Quite simply, it is contributing to nurses leaving primary care or being unable to attract them in the first instance, particularly when we consider our new graduate workforce. Recent initiatives in extra funding for new graduates in primary care are helpful and welcomed but don’t address the pay equity challenge.”

Primary and community nurses complete the same education and ongoing training as nurses who are employed by Te Whatu Ora. These nurses have acquired extensive skills and there is no justification or rationale for not valuing them equally. A 2023 GPNZ survey found 43 percent of general practices had restricted or closed services due to nurse shortages – with little improvement seen since.

“General practices want to pay their nurses more, their skills and expertise (utilising a wide range of their scope of practice) are undervalued as demonstrated by the current pay scales across the health sector. But this is currently unachievable without adequate and realistic Government funding.”

Practice income is largely controlled by the Government, which sets both the capitation funding per enrolled patient and limits on what practices can charge patients. Research shows capitation funding hasn’t kept pace with rising costs – the 2022 Sapere report estimated an additional $138 million was needed that year just to maintain services. Since that work the gap between costs and funding has continued to increase. Last year, practice costs rose by 5.88 per cent, yet capitation funding increased by only 4 per cent.

“It is apparent that primary care nurses are being financially penalised simply because of where they choose to work. That is neither reasonable nor sustainable.”

The consequences of continued pay disparity are stark: loss of experienced staff, reduced access to community-based care, and increased strain on an already overstretched hospital system.

“Primary care nurses are the cornerstone of prevention, early intervention, and long-term condition support. It’s not an exaggeration to say we’re seeing nurses walk away from this vital work on a regular basis, or seeking professional support to deal with stress associated to this disparity. That potentially puts whole communities at risk, particularly our most underserved communities.”

“In recent months, we’ve welcomed multiple commitments to strengthening the primary care nursing workforce. But without equal pay, we risk undermining those efforts, turning nurses away from meaningful and essential careers in primary care.”

“This is not the end,” says McIlhone. “GPNZ fully supports the resubmission of a new claim, and we are committed to working alongside Te Whatu Ora, employer groups, and NZNO to progress it under the amended Act.”

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