Primary Health Care nurses and Plunket nurses gather together to protest being paid less than their Health NZ counterparts. Photo / Michael Cunningham.
Primary Health Care nurses and Plunket nurses gather together to protest being paid less than their Health NZ counterparts. Photo / Michael Cunningham.
Northland nurses say the region's vulnerable population already struggling to access GPs will be worse off if pay doesn't become a drawcard for experienced workers.
But Whangārei MP Emily Henderson says the Government is committed to pay parity between nurses working outside of the hospitals and their Te Whatu Ora counterparts.
The plight of primary health care and Plunket nurses played out at the Kensington Sports Park yesterday where nurses donned purple clothes and wigs in a stand against "unfair" wages.
Whānau Āwhina Plunket chief executive Fiona Kingsford said it was the first time in at least 35 years Plunket nurses had gone on strike.
College of Primary Health Care Nurses chairperson Tracey Morgan said primary health care and Plunket nurses currently earn up to 20 per cent less than those employed by Te Whatu Ora, and Māori and iwi provider nurses are paid up to 25 per cent less.
NZ Nurses' Organisation (NZNO) Northland organiser Julie Governor said bigger corporations, such as aged care facilities, may be able to close the gap but smaller community health providers can't afford to.
"The Ministry of Health is saying we've paid you enough to meet that pay gap and the employers are saying you don't pay us enough, the capitation money needs to be more."
Northland NZNO organiser Julie Governor at the nurses' strike. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Henderson said Health Minister Andrew Little had been working with employees and unions and was confident positive developments would occur before the year's end.
"You can't overestimate the importance of nurses to our whole health system," she said.
"We're committed to catching our non-hospital nurses up with the work we have done to increase the pay of the public health system nurses in hospitals and who we employ directly."
West End Medical Centre nurse Andrea Remnant felt the population and government didn't understand the amount of stress primary health care and Plunket nurses are under.
"Our already vulnerable population that can't get into general practice are going to be even worse because a lot of the time nurses will pick up the overflow and do a lot the jobs that the GPs can sort of oversee."
Ngaire Sharp, from Kawakawa Commercial St Surgery, said community nurse services were vital for the parts of Northland without hospitals or accident and emergency facilities.
"In Northland, there are no choices... the GP is the main [healthcare] source for most people," she said.
"I work in a practice that has no experienced practice nurses and we can't attract anyone because nobody wants to lose the money, they can't afford to live."
Northland nurses Andrea Remnant and Ngaire Sharp at the Whangārei strike. Photo / Michael Cunningham.
Sharp said the Government gives practices funding for nurses but it wasn't enough to pay the same as what Te Whatu Ora, Health New Zealand nurses receive.
"For me, it's a disparity that the Government has made between nurses from within the DHB and out in the community."
Henderson said Labour had inherited "one heck of a mess" in the sector.
"National had stranded nurses with an average increase of about 1.3 per cent per annum, which was actually an effective pay cut.
''Since Labour came in we have given public system nurses an average of 20 per cent pay increase and ringfenced a significant sum for a pay equity settlement."
Earlier this week, National leader Christopher Luxon said his party would consider paying nurses and doctors more if elected into Government amid the sector's severe staffing woes.
"We have amazing people in the system, but they are really overburdened. Today we could go into Parliament and we could do what we've talked about, which is fast-track nurses into New Zealand as Australia has been doing," Luxon told AM fill-in co-host Patrick Gower on Wednesday.
Plunket chief executive Fiona Kingsford said if staff were offered pay parity, the Government funding shortfall would this year alone be more than $9 million.
"We understand that Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand is working on advice to the Government on possible solutions to pay parity and we look forward to being updated."
Nurses overwhelmingly voted to strike in early October after rejecting pay increase offers of 2.8 per cent for primary health care nurses, about 3 per cent for Plunket, and Health Care NZ nurses turned down an offer of about 3 per cent.
