Collaborative Bargaining Gets Results

12 September 2007

Collaborative Bargaining Gets Results

The New Zealand Nurses Organisation and District Health Boards have reached agreement on a Multi-Employer Collective Agreement (MECA) covering 20,000 nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants working in New Zealand’s Public Hospitals.

The three-year agreement will see NZNO members receive incremental pay increases of 3%, 4% and 4% over the term of the agreement as well as a number of other improvements of terms and conditions. The agreement expires on 31 March 2010.

NZNO and the DHBs used an “Interests and Issues Based Bargaining” approach to negotiations. This meant that rather than entering negotiations with pre-determined positions and claims, the parties set out the issues they each wanted to deal with and then worked together to find mutually acceptable solutions.

The issues raised by NZNO members were:  Maintaining pay rates and conditions comparable with other state sector professionals as achieved in the previous settlement.  Security and Stability through a longer term agreement.  Equity, Fairness and Consistency across all DHBs for the predominantly female nursing workforce.

NZNO Industrial Advisor and negotiations lead advocate, Glenda Alexander says that the agreement was acceptable to NZNO members because it provided solutions for all the issues NZNO took into bargaining. “95% of our members who voted approved the settlement,” Glenda Alexander says. “That compares with 81% approval for the historic Fair Pay settlement, so it shows just how successful these negotiations have been.”

An important component of the negotiations for NZNO members was employer contributions to superannuation. Glenda Alexander says the Budget announcement in May regarding KiwiSaver changed the parameters, and required some re-thinking of how to deliver a fair deal but also provided a superb opportunity. “The DHBs have agreed to make 2% contributions from March next year. This allows our members to enter KiwiSaver making 2% employee contributions under the KiwiSaver Bill’s transitional arrangements. This kind of arrangement would help many New Zealanders get started in KiwiSaver so we hope other employers will follow the DHBs’ lead,” says Glenda Alexander.

The agreement will see the establishment of a “Joint Action Committee” that will progress the ongoing interests and issues of the parties outside of bargaining. This group will look to ensure the MECA is applied consistently across all 21 DHBs.

Glenda Alexander says the settlement proves the value of taking the Interests and Issues based approach. “I wouldn’t say the process was easy, far from it. We had our challenges, just like any negotiations, and the process has taken over six months but the result is worth it.”

ENDS

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