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Healthcare workers are once again walking out of their jobs today as the nurses union’s dispute with Health NZ (HNZ) over pay and resources continues.
The impact of strike action is also at odds with both sides claiming victory during a recent nationwide strike, which saw tens of thousands of union members protesting what they say are low wages and inadequate staffing.
The series of rolling strikes starts in Auckland on Tuesday and will hit a different region every day until December 19, with nurses walking out for four hours from 1pm to 5pm.
The Nurses Organization (NZNO) said nurses, midwives and care assistants planned to be on the picket line, with the strike window – which falls during a shift change – deliberately chosen to have maximum impact on services, while the impact on individuals is reduced. nurses.
The ongoing strikes follow a national strike on December 3 36,000 union members lay off their jobs for eight hours.
Nurses Organization (NZNO) chief executive Paul Goulter said anecdotal evidence suggests last week’s walk-off caused significant disruption.
“It has certainly had an impact on Te Whatu Ora and will continue to do so with the ongoing strikes.”
But Mark Shepherd, deputy director of HNZ’s northern region, said the December 3 strike acted as a trial run for contingency planning and had given the organization confidence that patients would be little affected by the ongoing strikes.
He said last week’s strike provided the agency with valuable information about its ability to deal with the crisis.
“That feedback is built into our ongoing contingency plans, so we feel well prepared… for the evolving strikes impacting several hospitals and districts.”
Shepherd said patients must attend appointments on strike days unless told otherwise.
Health NZ said it could only provide data on rescheduled procedures or clinic closures due to the strikes only after the entire strike action had ended.
Goulter said that while he was hopeful, he wasn’t confident the mediation planned this week would be fruitful — and said part of the battle was getting the health department to agree to a minimum number nurses on the wards.
He said his members were not confident Health NZ’s revamped staffing system would be safe enough for patients on hospital wards.
“(We) are pushing hard for what we call the nurse-patient ratio, to at least create a minimum enforceable minimum that Te Whatu Ora must comply with as an employer.
“We will do our best to solve this problem, but I must say that the parties are far apart.”
Shepherd said the health service’s staffing system – called Care Capacity Demand Management – is being improved and will be reintroduced in January or February.
He said it was important to be in the room together to negotiate, and Health NZ was committed to a settlement, but this one would “Continued reset from Health NZ” to get back on budget.
Meanwhile, Minister of Industrial Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden yesterday introduced a bill that would allow employers to withhold wages for partial strike action.
Craig Renney, chief economist at the Council of Trade Unions, said the nurses’ ongoing strike action amounted to a full withdrawal of labor – not a partial one – and would therefore not be the target of such legislation.
Strike actions throughout the country
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