Nursing reports

New Zealand Nurses Organisation media release, 5 December 2018

The New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) welcomes Employment Law improvements that will bring fairer and safer work.

NZNO Industrial Services Manager Cee Payne says it is heartening that we are returning to an employment law framework that restores the right for working people to have greater fairness and safety at work.

“Many workers in New Zealand are not covered by a collective agreement and, under the old law, had lost basic rights – such as a new employee’s right to mediation where there is an existing employment dispute, or just the right to regular meal and tea breaks.

“Restoring the right to a tea break sends a really important message that every working person has value and deserves the right to fair and safe work.”

Cee Payne said the changes are relatively easy to adopt for employers and will be effective for working people.

“We know these restored rights support good workplaces and safe work, because we’ve had similar provisions before and the evidence is there that they work.

“We’re encouraged by the progress the Government has made in this new employment law and we look forward to seeing ongoing progress towards fairer work and conditions.”

NZNO workplace delegate Nurse Erin Kennedy is also pleased with the law change.

“As a health professional I was really worried when hard-working New Zealanders started losing rights to a cup of tea and a break. Something like that can be really unsafe, and that’s not good for anybody – including employers.” 

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Media inquiries: Rob Zorn, NZNO Media and Communications Advisor: 027 431 2617.

New Zealand Nurses Organisation media release, 3 December 2018

The New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) says Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) needs to get serious about enforcing a zero-tolerance approach to violence in the workplace if the now regular assaults against nurses are to stop.

NZNO Organiser John Miller said it is absolutely unacceptable for anyone to feel scared to go to work because they could be stabbed, burned, beaten, punched or strangled.

“Surely this is going to negatively affect the quality of the care they can give.

“We have been speaking out about the safety of nurses and other staff in the workplace for years. NZNO has also been working for some time to support security, safety and good practice environments for it members.

“This has included participating on working groups that have made recommendations to CDHB around issues such as employing security guards and urgently funding and pursuing improved practice environments to make inpatient settings safer.”

He said NZNO is also calling on WorkSafe to step up and take a proactive approach to violence in the workplace for all health workers. 

“Where is WorkSafe’s involvement in all this? We are aware that WorkSafe has had very few serious assault reports from CDHB’s Specialist Mental Health Services, but there have been more than enough publically reported incidents that should be triggering ‘WorkSafe’s involvement.”

“A much more serious approach is needed to make workplaces safer for staff – and it would be a major omission if this were not a main focus of the Inquiry into Mental Health and Addiction.”

NZNO media release, 30 November 2018

Around 100 NZNO nurses, medical receptionists/administrators and health promoters have voted to issue a 24 hour strike notice over a breakdown in their collective agreement negotiation with Family Planning Association (FPA). The strike will take place from 7.00am 13 December to 7.00am 14 December 2018.

The parties have been in negotiations since March 2018 and attended mediation in August.

Family Planning provide a range of clinical services and education in 33 clinics, 32 school linked clinics and outreach centres across New Zealand.

NZNO Lead Advocate Chris Wilson says that FPA staff are simply asking for their work to be fully respected and be equitably recognised for their value and expertise. "Family Planning is a public health organisation providing incredibly valuable work for our community," she said. "But it is simply unsustainable and unfair for our members to be paid less than the going rate for their work."

Members rejected the latest offer made because it failed to fully address longstanding wage inequity.

FPA nurses are paid at least 6% less than a comparable role within the DHB. They have to attain additional competencies to deliver the services Family Planning provide, up to and including nurse prescribing. FPA Nurse Practitioners could gain between 13 - 27% with a career move to the DHB.

FPA wages for medical receptionist and administration roles are also problematic, with half of their rates being below the living wage.

Family Planning have had at least a decade of inadequate funding. FPA have stated that this underfunding is the cause of their inability to invest more into wages.

NZNO acknowledge that FPA have endeavoured to provide higher increases than in previous years, however staff at FPA should not have to make up the funding shortfall by working for lower wages. It is time that the funding provided to FPA matched the value it gives to the wellbeing of our community.

The parties will be directed to attend mediation before the strike occurs and Chris Wilson remains hopeful that funding can be found to settle the dispute.

"Our members don’t want to strike and this has never occurred previously. They are passionate about the fantastic service they provide and want to remain and also be able to attract staff to the service. They need wage rates that recognize the true value of their work in comparison to their peers and further a living wage for all staff.

However, when community health appears to be valued at a lower rate than hospital care they know the community is relying on them to improve it."

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Media inquiries: Georgia Choveaux, Campaigns Adviser  027 553 7343

NZNO media release, 14 November 2018

NZNO nurses and health care assistants (HCAs) will join colleagues in various professions, and from three other unions, in a 24 hour strike over a breakdown in their collective agreement negotiation with East Coast PHO Ngāti Porou Hauora (NPH). The strike will take place from 7.00am 27 November to 7.00am 28 November 2018.

NZNO, Kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku says registered nurses working for NPH earn $14,000 per year less than their colleagues working in district health boards (DHBs) and enrolled nurses working for NPH earn less than HCAs whose wages are covered by the Pay Equity Settlement Act.

Despite this, NPH’s current offer amounts to no more than 2 percent, with some staff being offered no increase at all. Last year staff narrowly voted to accept a 0 percent pay increase but now say they have had enough of being poorly paid and want to be treated fairly and with the respect they deserve.

Rural health nurse Gina Chaffey-Aupouri (Ngāti Porou) says NPH nurses and health care assistants are caring people who are key to addressing the incredibly high health needs in the area.

“We just want to be paid the same as our colleagues working down the road who have the same qualifications and experience as we do,” she says.

“It’s just not fair to anybody. We already face so many barriers because we’re away from the main centres and we just can’t attract new staff when they can earn so much more working elsewhere. So we carry on, and we do the extra hours because we’re understaffed. We love and care for our people, but enough is enough and somebody has to stop and listen.”

NZNO organiser Christina Couling says the four unions (NZNO, the PSA, FIRST and E tū) want a fair pay increase for their members and a plan from NPH about how it will address stagnating wages and pay inequities between these and other nurses. No plan has been forthcoming despite negotiations having taken place for nearly a year.

“What we have here is another clear case of inequity and underinvestment in rural communities that have a significant proportion of Māori, and people in poverty with high health needs,” she says

“It’s fundamentally unjust when a DHB will not give its health providers the funding required to pay nurses at the same rate as nurses working in DHBs – despite them having the same qualifications, expertise and importance. It should not be left to hard-working, dedicated nurses to bear the brunt when finances are tight.

“Nobody wants to strike but when the health of the people in the iwi and region hangs in the balance like this, there really is no other option.”

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Media inquiries: Rob Zorn, NZNO Media and Communications Advisor: 027 431 2617.

29 October 2018

The New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) welcomes the Law Commission’s report outlining three alternative legal models for treating abortion as a health issue rather than a criminal one. NZNO, which made a submission on the issue and was part of the Law Commission’s wider health sector consultations, says it’s pleased nurses’ voices have been heard.

NZNO Professional Nursing Advisor Kate Weston says nurses play a huge role in women’s reproductive health and are much more likely to have ongoing relationships with patients than the consultants currently required to approve abortions.

“NZNO’s position is pretty clearly outlined in Model A, which would put decision-making around an abortion in the hands of the pregnant person in consultation with their health practitioner. This would remove red tape and harmful delays and better equip women to take charge of their own health.”

Kate Weston says she would like to see a more humane and sensible approach to abortion become part of an integrated health strategy for women and girls that encompasses all issues related to reproductive health, including fair access to PHARMAC-funded medicines.

“NZNO applauds the Law Commission for its report and looks forward to playing a continuing role in developing legislation that recognises abortion as a health issue and protects women’s reproductive autonomy.”

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Media inquiries: Rob Zorn, NZNO Media and Communications Advisor: 027 431 2617.

18 October 2018

The New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) supports the New Zealand Educational Institute’s (NZEI’s) strong stand over pay that may result in regional primary school teacher strikes in November. However, it is encouraging all parties to resolve issues urgently in a way that reflects the true value of New Zealand teachers and avoids the need for strikes.

NZNO Acting Industrial Services Manager Glenda Alexander said nursing and teaching face similar issues in that poor pay and stressful working conditions have resulted in ongoing problems around morale and fewer people staying in or joining the profession.

“Like nurses, teachers do work of immense value and there should be no question of this being reflected in the way they are paid. We agree with the NZEI that this is ultimately about the future of education and is therefore an important issue for all New Zealanders.

“NZNO encourages the Government, Ministry of Education and NZEI to work together urgently to find a solution that: avoids the need for strike action in November; recognises and rewards teachers now; and ensures the attractiveness of teaching as a profession into the future.”

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Media inquiries: Rob Zorn, NZNO Media and Communications Advisor: 027 431 2617.

NZNO media advisory, 17 October 2018

Registered nurses, health care assistants and cleaners at Lynton Lodge Hospital in Auckland are to picket for an hour in protest over failing pay negotiations.

When: Thursday 18 October, 4.30-5.30pm
Where: Corner of West End Rd and Fife St, Westmere, Auckland
Spokesperson: Sarah Barker, Organiser, New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO)

Background:

NZNO has been negotiating to renew a collective agreement (CA) with Sunrise Healthcare which took over management of Lynton Lodge Hospital around one year ago. Sunrise had agreed to retain the existing CA.

However, the latest pay offer from Sunrise has been rejected by NZNO members.

• For cleaners at the hospital there is no offered pay rise beyond the increase to the minimum wage (required last April).
• For registered nurses (RNs) with four years’ service the pay offer is just 13 cents per hour. Those with three years’ service have been offered just two cents.

Health care assistants at Lynton Lodge Hospital (whose pay is now regulated through the Care and Support Workers Pay Equity Settlement) have voted to support their RN and cleaner colleagues by joining the picket.

Of interest:

Many staff at Lynton Lodge have long service there. Lynton Lodge was the winner of the 2015/16 Aged Advisor People’s Choice Award for Best Aged Care (Small) Facility, and was a finalist for the same award in 2017.

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Media inquiries:Rob Zorn, NZNO Media and Communications Advisor: 027 431 2617

NZNO media release 12 October 2018

More than 300 nursing leaders will convene in Rarotonga on Monday (15 October) for the 19^th South Pacific Nurses Forum and AGM.

The theme for the Forum this year is Transforming Leadership: Nurses as Change Agents for Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in the Pacific.

New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) Kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku said nurses must be positioned as partners in redesigning and advancing health care to address the challenges NCDs bring.

“NCDs, such as heart disease and diabetes, are probably the greatest health challenge Pacific countries now face and we as nurses are at the coalface in this challenge. We deal with the deaths and illnesses caused by NCDs every day and we need to lead the way in prevention and management to improve the health of Pacific people.”

Kerri Nuku will be part of an NZNO delegation to the Forum. The delegation will also include NZNO, NZNO President Grant Brookes, NZNO Pacific Section Chair Eseta Finau, NZNO Kaumātua Keelan Ransfield and NZNO Chief Executive Memo Musa.

A communique will be produced after the AGM that will make statements and recommendations about the strategic direction for nursing for members of the SPNF and Pacific countries.

High profile keynote speakers at the Forum will include World Health Organization Chief Nurse Elizabeth Iro, International Council of Nurses President Annette Kennedy and Chief Advisor Pacific Health (New Zealand Ministry of Health) Matafanua Hilda Fa’asalele.  

New Zealand presenters at the Forum will include nursing leaders and experts from Auckland University of Technology, Alliance Health Plus, Manukau Institute of Technology, Victoria University of Wellington, Te Piki Oranga Ltd, Counties Manukau District Health Board, Auckland Diabetes Centre and the Office of the Chief Nursing Officer (Ministry of Health).

The forum meets every two years.

More information, including a full programme, is available at http://www.spnf.org.au/.

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Media inquiries: Rob Zorn, NZNO Media and Communications Advisor: 027 431 2617.

10 October 2018

The New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) is urging ministerial delegates to the Australia and New Zealand Ministerial Forum on Food Regulation to vote in favour of mandatory, government-developed health warning labels on all alcohol products.

As a “key stakeholder with an interest in women’s health,” the organisation has signed an open letter to the Forum asking that Food Standards Australia New Zealand be tasked with developing an effective, consumer-tested labelling standard.

The Forum meets on 11 October and NZNO expects some ministerial delegates will toe the alcohol industry line that current voluntary labelling is sufficient, or that mandatory labelling will impinge on alcohol companies’ intellectual property rights.

NZNO Professional Nursing Adviser Kate Weston said women have a right to know if a product could cause harm to themselves or their baby, but that not all women who are pregnant, or who might become pregnant, were aware of those potential harms.

“Alcohol consumption during pregnancy is associated with a range of adverse consequences including miscarriage, preterm birth and stillbirth. Meanwhile hazardous drinking rates for women are rising.

“The Ministry of Health estimates that one in 100 babies is born with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) and that’s caused by exposure to alcohol in the womb. We think it’s ridiculous to argue that warnings are unnecessary or that the tiny warnings currently on the back of less than half of all alcohol products are sufficient.”

She said FASD significantly hinders development in childhood and that the effects are lifelong and have no cure.

“How can we sincerely suggest that the intellectual property rights of the alcohol industry are more important than the intellectual wellbeing of one in 100 of our children?

“FASD and these other health problems also affect families and whānau for life. They put a further strain on our health system, and that includes our nurses. Neonatal units are experiencing ever increasing capacity challenges due to babies being born having been exposed to alcohol in the womb, and a raft of problems flow on from that – including cots not being available for other babies.”

Ms Weston said leaving warnings up to the alcohol industry was clearly not working.  

“We have mandatory, government-supervised warnings on lots of dangerous substances, including tobacco. Alcohol should be no different, so NZNO is calling on ministers at the Forum to put the health of their populations above commercial interests and vote for a compulsory labelling system that will actually work.” 

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Media inquiries: Rob Zorn, NZNO Media and Communications Advisor: 027 431 2617.

Northland mental health nurse and advocate Moe Milne (Ngāti Hine, Ngāpuhi) has been presented with the 2018 Akenehi Hei Memorial Award for her contribution to Māori mental health.

Moe Milne was a psychiatric nurse specialising in Māori mental health for many years and, as kaiwhakahaere for the Health and Disability Commission, she helped develop its mental health service guidelines – Ngā Tikanga Totika. She currently works as a cultural competency educator for mental health workforce development centre Te Pou o te Whakaaro Nui.

In an emotional ceremony at the Indigenous Nurses Aotearoa Conference on 11 August, previous winner Pareake O’Brien passed the pounamu, stone and pohutukawa award to Moe Milne, who said she felt “extremely humbled, but also very proud”.

The Akenehi Hei Memorial Award is presented every two years by Te Rūnanga o Aotearoa ­– a Tiriti o Waitangi partner to the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) representing its Māori members. The Award is named after Akenehi Hei, the first Māori nurse and midwife to register under her own name rather than the name ‘Agnes’ given to her by her Pākehā employers.

NZNO kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku said Moe Milne was well known for her work supporting not only nurses, but every Māori who wants help.

“Moe’s dedication is a gift to all New Zealanders and I was very proud to present this award to such a great person who is so dedicated to Māori health needs and education.

“She generates the same aroha, manaakitanga and commitment to her people as Akenehi Hei and is truly inspirational for her contributions to Māori health and knowledge.”

Kerri Nuku said the award was Te Rūnanga’s most prized because of its mauri and the mana of Akenehi Hei.

This is not the first formal recognition for Moe Milne who was awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2017 for her services to Māori health.

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Media inquiries: Rob Zorn, NZNO Media and Communications Advisor: 027 431 2617.