Nursing reports

New Zealand Nurses Organisation media release, 11 May 2022

The New Zealand Nurses Organisation Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa (NZNO) says it will be launching a new campaign tomorrow through which it intends to win the political and resourcing commitments needed to address the nursing shortage crisis permanently – and across the whole health sector.

12 May is International Nurses Day, and NZNO Chief Executive Paul Goulter says that’s the perfect time to launch Maranga Mai! (meaning ‘Rise up!’), an ambitious campaign that calls on every nurses everywhere in New Zealand to rise up together and demand that they be resourced and enabled to do their jobs safely and well.

“So much has been asked of nurses, midwives, health care assistants and kaimahi hauora, and they have delivered like the courageous and professional workforce they are, right across Health. I am not just talking about our DHB-run hospitals.

“But decades of poor planning, inadequate funding and outright neglect have led us to a time of absolute crisis in terms of pay, staffing resources and morale across the nursing sector.

“NZNO intends to go hard. We will be relentless in pursuit of our goals and we will not stop until they are achieved.”

Central to the Maranga Mai! campaign will be the ‘Five Fixes’ which form the charter of demands for the campaign:

1. te Tiriti actualised within and across the health system
2. more nurses across the health sector
3. pay and conditions that meet nurses’ value and expectations
4. more people training to be nurses
5. more Māori and Pasifika nurses.

Paul Goulter says these are what is needed to solve the crisis and that NZNO must be at the table when decisions are made affecting nursing.

“We are more than 55,000 strong and growing. We have a portfolio of solutions and it’s time for Government to listen and involve us so we can work together on fixing this.”

He said a start would be addressing Pay Equity issues for DHB nursing staff without delay and honouring back pay obligations, which would reassure nurses they are valued and go some way towards restoring trust.

“And then those improved rates have to be rolled out across other sectors so people will want to become nurses and want to work where they are needed instead of where the better money is. I’m talking about Aged Care, Primary Care, and especially Māori and iwi providers where nurses earn 30 percent less than their colleagues in other sectors.”

He said a second solution is to implement mandatory staff to patient ratios in every area of health, supported by staff allocation systems and programmes that match nursing resources to patient needs.

“These are the sorts of things it is going to take to guarantee quality of care and that nurses have the time to see that patient needs are met in a compassionate and holistic way.

“Make no mistake about it, people are sicker than they need to be and some are dying because of the nursing crisis and it is time to get serious about addressing this.

“We are deadly serious. Maranga Mai! is not just a campaign for every nurse everywhere. It’s a campaign that will benefit all people in Aotearoa New Zealand because nurses who are well-resourced to do their work without the constant stress of being short-staffed will improve access to good health care and services for all of us.”

Maranga Mai! will be launched at an online forum for members at 11am on Thursday 12 May 2022.

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

New Zealand Nurses Organisation media release, 10 May 2022

The New Zealand Nurses Organisation, Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa (NZNO) says its members and others affected by the recently proposed DHB Nursing Pay Equity settlement have indicated they want the proposed settlement referred to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) for a determination.

This follows widespread concern from members and other affected DHB employees that the DHB employers were not honouring an agreement in the 2020 DHB/NZNO MECA (signed last year) that each employee would receive back pay on the basis of the new rates to 31 December 2019.

Instead, a series of lump sum payments in recognition of past work has been proposed, amounting to much lower remuneration for many nurses than they would have received had they been back-paid as originally agreed.

Around 40,000 nursing staff covered by the DHB Nursing Pay Equity claim were invited to participate in a poll which closed at 5pm on Monday 9 May. Poll participants chose, by a significant majority, to refer the proposed agreement to the ERA over the second option which was to proceed with a ratification vote, once a final proposed settlement had been agreed.

In April NZNO commissioned a legal review of the proposed settlement which found it was contrary to the Equal Pay Act with regards to the backpay issue.

NZNO has now instructed its lawyers to file an application with the ERA to seek a determination that the DHBs are required to individually backdate the pay equity rates to 31 December 2019 as was formally agreed in collective bargaining last year.

Determinations will also be sought on the rates themselves, including concerns from some senior nurses about the effect of the new pay equity rates, and on a review mechanism to ensure pay equity with male-dominated professions is maintained into the future.

NZNO Chief Executive Paul Goulter said the timing of the review would be entirely up to the ERA but that NZNO would ask for urgency.

“It may well be that when the ERA receives our application, it directs all parties into a mediation or facilitation process as a first step.

“We have informed the DHBs that we will be filing with the ERA, but that we are willing to do all we can to narrow the differences between us in the meantime.”

He said NZNO would keep members and other affected DHB nursing employees informed about when the application would be filed and other matters relevant to the filing of the application as steps unfold.

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

MORE INFORMATION

Please refer to the attached media FAQ that explains some of the complex issues behind the proposed DHB Nursing Pay Equity settlement: 2022-05-10 NZNO Post poll media FAQ.pdf

New Zealand Nurses Organisation media release, 14 April 2022.  

The New Zealand Nurses Organisation, Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa (NZNO) says a legal review of the recently proposed Nursing Pay Equity settlement has concluded the proposed settlement is contrary to the Equal Pay Act 1972.

On 17 September 2021, NZNO and the twenty district health boards signed a settlement which provided that the pay equity pay rates once settled would be back paid to 31 December 2019. This back pay entitlement is an existing contractual term for each member.

The Equal Pay Act provides that a pay equity settlement that contains a term that reduces an employee’s employment agreement entitlements has no effect. The proposed settlement agreement conflicts with this rule as it removes a large part of the contractual back pay entitlement previously agreed.

The purpose of the rule is to prevent settlements under which pay equity increases are offset against existing entitlements.

"On the basis of this advice I have informed the Government, the DHB employers and our fellow union the Public Services Association (PSA) that NZNO does not accept the proposed settlement and that the ratification vote scheduled to commence 20 April has been cancelled."

"We have informed members of this advice and will be consulting with them on next steps, specifically whether they endorse an approach to the Employment Relation Authority to review the legality of the proposed lump sum payment, or whether their preference is to vote on the deal offered, despite it breaching earlier agreements."

He said that he nevertheless fully supports the work of the Pay Equity negotiation team.

"These negotiators, who include NZNO members, were operating under intense pressure in complicated circumstances. They brought to members what they believed was the best possible proposed settlement under those circumstances, and they should be congratulated for their hard work and determination to get the very best result for members after years of delay."

Paul Goulter said these developments would delay implementation of the new pay rates to DHB employees but he reiterated that NZNO will go hard to see that any eventual DHB base rates are extended to all sectors of nursing, including primary health care (e.g. medical centres), aged care, and particularly Māori and iwi providers.

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

New Zealand Nurses Organisation media release, 1 April 2022

The New Zealand Nurses Organisation, Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa (NZNO) welcomes today’s announced Living Wage increase to $23.65. It says all health employers, from DHBs through to primary care and Māori and iwi providers, must step up and set the Living Wage as the minimum for themselves and their contractors.

NZNO Kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku said the health sector, like any other, cannot prosper on the back of poor pay rates that often perpetuate poverty. 

“Governments have ignored the wage crisis for far too long and driven many whānau into hardship.

“A lot of nurses, midwives, health care assistants and kaimahi hauora, some currently earning below the Living Wage, are taking second jobs or leaving their profession because the pressures of working within the health system are not worth the mental and physical distress. This is only exacerbated when it’s hard to put food on the table.”

Ms Nuku said that to survive on low wages both parents or caregivers often need to work yet still barely keep their head above water.

“The slightest change to income or expenses takes months to recover from and the mental impact on everyone in the family is significant. It’s so much harder for children to have a decent start in life with both parents having to work for the minimum wage.   

“There is no wellbeing in these types of wages and that is why an accurate Living Wage that reflects the minimum required to meet basic wellbeing needs is so important.

“If smaller health providers say they cannot afford to pay what is needed to live with dignity, then funding models must be urgently reassessed.”

NZNO has long been a Living Wage employer and extends that requirement to its contractors.

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

New Zealand Nurses Organisation media release, 31 March 2022.

It is with deep sadness that Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa - New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) mourns the passing of Dr Moana Jackson, constitutional lawyer and Tiriti expert. 

Kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku said he’s been an inspiration for many generations of activists and the heart and soul behind Te Rūnanga as they drive for Tino Rangatiratanga (self-determination).

"We’ve had the chance to work with Matua Moana over the past several years including having him come to speak at our Indigenous Nurses Aotearoa Conference.

"We’ll never forget his final kōrero at last year’s conference. The title ‘Heed the call of the Maunga’ was inspired by his stories about honouring whakapapa.

"Even in recent months he continued to be a shining light for our Māori nurses, to instil courage and hope as he has always done."

Ms Nuku said that anyone who had the chance to meet him knows how humble and generous he was with his time and energy, especially for rangatahi.

And though gently spoken, she said, he never wavered in stating truth in the face of power and injustice.

"He was a staunch leader and advocate to the very end.

"We will forever cherish his vision, his wisdom, and his aroha for all Indigenous peoples. And we will honour his legacy by continuing to build a just Aotearoa as it was always envisioned to be."

Moe mai rā e te rangatira, moe mai, moe mai.

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

New Zealand Nurses Organisation media release, 10 March 2022  

Members of the New Zealand Nurses Organisation | Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa (NZNO) at Wairarapa DHB’s Emergency Department are concerned that the DHB has misled the public with unrealistic wait times, while failing to take steps to improve the staffing situation.

Wairarapa DHB CEO Dale Oliff was recently quoted in the Wairarapa Times-Age stating that wait times varied from about 10 minutes to two hours depending on urgency.

However, NZNO delegate and Emergency Department Nurse Practitioner Lucy McLaren says Ms Oliff’s comments are totally misleading.

"The estimates given by the DHB are ideal and based on fully staffed wards outside a pandemic," says Ms McLaren. "We just can’t meet that expectation.

"Wairarapa DHB has been understaffed for 18 months and is in an even more critical situation now that nurses are isolating and even more are resigning.

"Just this Monday, non-urgent patients who should supposedly wait up to two hours were waiting more than eight hours to be seen.

"Staff are horrified this pressure has been placed on them because it creates tensions that we bear the brunt of."

Ms McLaren says the false assurances are especially insulting given that nurses issued a Provisional Improvement Notice (PIN) to the DHB on 17 February. A PIN requires action by the employer on critical health and safety failings, especially unsafe staffing levels across the hospital.

"While there’s no immediate fix to the staffing crisis, it has taken the DHB two weeks to even acknowledge the PIN.

"We’re feeling completely demoralised because on the one hand the DHB is far overstating our capacity, and on the other hand, they’re not listening to us when we point out the issues.

"We need the DHB to apologise and issue realistic advice on what people can expect at the hospital. It then needs to be accountable for these chronic issues, and work with us rather than against us, to solve them."  

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

New Zealand Nurses Organisation media release, Date 8 March 2022

The New Zealand Nurses Organisation | Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa (NZNO) says workers delivering critical health services, who are COVID-19 cases and who have no or mild symptoms, can now be asked to return to work in Covid wards.

NZNO Kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku says this further change to the Public Health Order is just one more in a series of desperate changes put in place to address crisis-level nursing shortages.

“After years of neglect and a woeful lack of planning to address the shortage everyone knew was coming, we are now stuck in the middle of a serious pandemic with very few nurses available to fill the growing gaps resulting from underlying short staffing. And widespread absence due to Covid has only compounded the problem.”

She said nurses can still refuse to work if mildly symptomatic, but that many will be feeling the pressure not to leave their colleagues even further understaffed.

“Only individuals can judge how unwell they are, and we really encourage nurses to be careful in what they commit to as symptoms can change very rapidly. They need to put their own wellbeing first.

“And the DHBs must recognise their obligations to protect staff and the community and should be looking for extra ways to support and recognise nurses who agree to take on this additional burden.

 “They need to keep talking with us about how amendments to the Health Act are actioned and how the best interests of staff remain the priority.”

Ms Nuku said understaffing in the nursing sector is only going to get worse at a time we need it most and the Government has to take urgent action now to attract nurses who have left back into the workforce and recruitment drives to encourage people into nursing careers.

“We keep hearing from the top that things are fine and that hospitals are prepared, but those on the coalface say this is absolutely not true, and covid-positive nurses being asked to work while unwell is clear proof of that.”

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

NZNO welcomes the release of the Nursing Safe Staffing Review of the Care Capacity Demand Management (CCDM) Programme. Acting Chief Executive Mairi Lucas, says that the report validates what nurses have been saying for years about chronic short staffing and compromised quality care, but the reality on the ground is even worse than reported.

“CCDM is a tool that was set up to ensure quality patient care, by ensuring a whole of system response to changing needs across the hospital. But since the beginning it hasn’t worked because there simply aren’t enough nurses.

“We have nurses leaving in droves. One in five shifts are in red alert, meaning hospitals are critically understaffed and people don’t always receive the highest quality care.”

Ms Lucas says the report shows that NZNO must be part of the solution. She says that while we do need a tool to ensure safe staffing, we need to examine if what we’re using is still fit for purpose.

“No other profession has to undergo such scrutiny to justify the issues they raise. It’s time we lead the change, because there won’t be a durable solution without us.

“Our members are the majority of the healthcare workforce, we live the reality. NZNO needs to be at the decision-making table, especially for the new health authorities, because that’s where solutions will be rolled out.  

“We need a worker-centred and Tiriti-compliant system that can be applied across all sectors, and we desperately need a commitment from the government to do all it can to increase staffing.

“We’re ready to work with the government to bring solutions, we’re just waiting on them to take us up on it.” 

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Contact: Hugo Robinson | Assistant Media and Communications Advisor | hugo.robinson@nzno.org.nz | 021 194 3408.

The New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) says it’s worried the country’s health system, which is already in critical condition, could be completely overwhelmed by the inevitable Omicron outbreak.

NZNO agrees with the Association for Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS) and the New Zealand Medical Association (NZMA) that the understaffing situation is an emergency which, left unchecked, will have severe long-term repercussions for the health of Aotearoa New Zealand.

NZNO Kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku says health care workers aren’t even coping with business as usual during summer with little COVID-19 in the community.

"Across all sectors, from DHB to primary care and iwi providers, we simply can’t keep up. Come Omicron, and come winter, we will see the system collapsing under the strain.

"That will mean our COVID patients will not get the best quality care. It will also cause delayed surgeries and cancelled clinics - which will hugely affect the population, especially when it comes to minimising preventable illnesses and treating diseases like cancer.

"We call this an emergency because it needs urgent action."

Ms Nuku said the Government must listen and respond to the concerns of health workers at the coalface. She said what NZNO is calling for includes Government-funded nursing recruitment drives, free nursing study, prioritised MIQ spots specifically for nurses and health care workers, supply of the best PPE, rapid antigen testing and robust home isolation procedures.

"Above all else though, we need people to want to join and remain in the profession. There is an international shortage of nurses, and we have for too long relied on staff from overseas.

"We’ve had to battle to get a half decent pay-rise for DHB workers and nurses have been discouraged by how long it has taken. Pay equity must be extended to all nurses regardless of their practice setting. In fact, we haven’t even come close to addressing pay injustices for community care, the private workforce, and especially nurses working for Māori and iwi providers.

"Now is the time to act boldly, with the interests of workers at the fore because without us there is no health system. And with the health system under such threat, we will see here the social and economic devastation occurring in Australia and elsewhere."

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For more information contact:

Rob Zorn | Communications and Media Advisor, New Zealand Nurses Organisation

Email: rob.zorn@nzno.org.nz, Tel: +64 (0)4 494 8242, Mobile: +64 (0)27 431 2617

New Zealand Nurses Organisation media release, 22 December 2021

The New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) is pleased to advise that it has today signed an Agreement in Principle to settle its Nursing Pay Equity claim for the NZNO and PSA members who work in district health boards (DHBs).

NZNO Industrial Services Manager Glenda Alexander said this settlement is of historical significance because it corrects the long-standing sex-based undervaluation of nursing work.

“This Pay Equity agreement will be absolutely life-changing for many of our members.

“It has been the result of countless hours of data collection and analysis – and then figuring out how it all translates to new pay rates. It is fantastic to finally see that tremendous effort coming to fruition.

“It will do wonders for the future of the profession as well, because it sets a positive pathway for recruitment in years to come.”

She said it was a welcome end to what has been an extremely challenging year for nurses, health care assistants, midwives and kaimahi hauora.

The next steps in the process will be drawing up the documentation and then providing it to those it covers who will eventually vote on whether to accept it.

“Even though this major milestone has been reached, we will still need some time to ensure communications on the details of the pay increases are accurate and clear,” Ms Alexander said.

“We expect to be providing that information as soon as practicable in the New Year.”

The Pay Equity claim covers approximately 40,000 members of the DHB-employed nursing workforce.

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