Senior Nurses Reject Unacceptable Pay offer

August 14, 2003

Senior Nurses Reject Unacceptable Pay offer

"Senior Nurses in seven Lower North Island DHBs, have resoundingly rejected a proposal to settle a multi-employer collective employment agreement," New Zealand Nurses Organisation advocate Lyn Olsthoorn said today.

The seven DHBs are Hutt Valley, Capital and Coast, Whanganui, Hawkes Bay, Taranaki, MidCentral and Wairarapa.

"These NZNO members are in positions of critical importance," said Lyn Olsthoorn.

"They are nurse leaders who are responsible for the education and imparting of specialist expertise and running of wards, units and departments in charge nurse positions."

Lyn Olsthoorn said in many DHBs the employers' pay offer would see improvements of just two or three percent over two years.

It would also see a new pay scale implemented where new staff would be paid more than the current, experienced nurses in some areas.

"This is totally unacceptable to our members," she said.

NZNO members have recommended that the employing DHBs be given another opportunity to come up with an offer which meets their financial expectations.

"We have notified the employers and we now await their response," said Lyn Olsthoorn.

"Our members want to see the chasm between what they are paid and pay rates over the rest of the North Island closed. "

ENDS

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