Davies has written 25 separate letters to Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) on behalf of the NZNO members, who she says should have been appointed to higher registered nurse (RN) salary steps, given their nursing experience. “As per the DHB MECA [district health board multi-employer collective agreement] members can be appointed on any of the available salary steps, appropriate to their previous nursing experience”.
Community scale
Davies is already lobbying the CDHB to move its MIF nurses from the RN scale to the community nursing scale, which offered higher rates of pay for experienced nurses, as was the case in Auckland.
That meant nurses in Christchurch MIFs were getting paid up to $5500 less than nurses in Auckland MIFs.
“I’m applying pressure on two different fronts,” Davies told Kai Tiaki Nursing New Zealand. The data she had gathered from the 25 nurses would also be useful if the DHB switched to a community nursing scale for its MIF nurses.
She was awaiting a response from new CDHB chief executive Peter Bramley on the salary scales, which she hoped would come this month.
