January 2023
January 27, 2023
Desperate Whānau Āwhina Plunket members have voted to accept a three per cent lift in pay which they previously rejected, to stave off further financial hardship. They are now putting their hope in a pay parity top up which the Minister of Health has committed to.
Read more... ‘I feel like s…’ — vote for three per cent wage relief leaves sour taste
December 2022
January 24, 2023
Thames Hospital ED normally has three day shifts for doctors, but recently this dropped to just one – a situation which left patients and staff vulnerable to serious adverse events, NZNO members say.*
Read more... Just one doctor at Thames Hospital – ‘a huge risk’
December 2022
December 23, 2022
As primary health care nurses grit their teeth to hold out for a better pay deal in the new year, a report commissioned by the interim health transition unit shows their employers are woefully underfunded.
Read more... Report shows funding gap of nine per cent for general practices
January 2023
December 23, 2022
World Cup Rugby-winners, the Black Ferns, took time out from their public celebrations to warmly champion the cause of nurses in Wellington this month.
Read more... Black Ferns take time out from celebrations to tautoko nurses
January 2023
December 22, 2022
Karene Walton, NZNO’s recently appointed director of organising, says there’s never been a better, or more important, time for NZNO members to take collective action.
Read more... ‘This is my way of giving back to nursing’ – union powerhouse starts role at NZNO
January 2023
December 22, 2022
Migrant nurses are welcoming the Government’s move to put them on the straight-to-residency visa – but say they should have been included from the start.
Read more... New Zealand ‘preferred destination’ for overseas nurses after visa changes
December 2022
December 16, 2022
Nurses employed by Te Whatu Ora are welcoming a lift to their pay rates as an interim measure to recognise gender-pay discrimination — but many remain sceptical.
Read more... Interim pay equity lift brings celebration, relief and disbelief
January 2023
December 13, 2022
Kind, caring – and incredibly strong. That is how colleagues from the close-knit neonatal intensive care (NICU) at Dunedin Hospital remember Lesley Elliott.
Read more... Strength ‘tinged with sadness’ — Lesley Elliott remembered by nursing colleagues
November 2022
December 8, 2022
Australian union lawyer and researcher Lisa Heap is lending her experience in the battle for pay equity, alongside employment lawyer Peter Cranney. Heap spoke to Kaitiaki about her trans-Tasman work to achieve pay justice for caring professions.
Read more... Pay equity battle: ‘There are people in need at the end of this process’
January 2023
December 7, 2022
After a three-and-a-half-year battle, including a grilling on the witness stand, delegate and hospice nurse Rachel Clarke is thrilled to the Employment Court found she and her colleagues at Arohanui Hospice Palmerston North, were entitled to be paid for public holidays not worked.
November 2022
November 29, 2022
Long-time NZNO flight nurse leader Toni Johnston was “blindsided” by a double-award whammy after stepping down as College of Air and Surface Transport Nurses (COASTN) chair after seven years.
Read more... Long-time NZNO flight nurse chair recognised with double awards
November 2022
November 28, 2022
New online learning modules to support health professionals’ working knowledge and understanding of the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights have been launched.
December 2022
November 28, 2022
NZNO aged care and iwi nurses are welcoming a $200 million annual cash injection which will bring pay parity with Te Whatu Ora nurses — but NZNO says practice nurses must be included.
Read more... Pay parity for aged care and iwi nurses ‘a step in the right direction’
November 2022
November 23, 2022
Nursing students are battling against the odds to “just survive” in the face of huge financial pressures, with some trying to hold down full-time jobs while meeting academic and clinical training expectations.
Read more... First-year nursing student juggles 60-hr week factory job and full-time study
November 2022
November 6, 2022
Paid clinical placements ‘a nod in the right direction’, but free nursing study for all is the goal, say student nursing leaders.
Read more... Minister looking at paid third-year placements, but no sign of more fees-free
November 2022
November 2, 2022
Negotiations over a pay deal for primary health care and Whānau Awhina Plunket nurses have stalled since the group went on strike last week, but Health Minister Andrew Little says he’s confident a solution will be found by Christmas.
Read more... Pay parity solution ‘well before’ end of year: Minister
December 2022
November 2, 2022
The best of times, the worst of times: After 15 years at NZNO, former professional services associate manager Kate Weston has moved on to become the executive director of the College of Nurses Aotearoa – thanks to leadership skills honed at NZNO during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read more... Leadership skills honed during pandemic, says outgoing Kate Weston
November 2022
November 1, 2022
Exhausted and demoralised Te Whatu Ora nurses took action to highlight extreme staffing shortages and a lack of negotiation for extra-shift payments over one week early last month. An NZNO survey about the action showed there were mixed feelings about the boycott, but most took part, and would support doing it again.
Read more... Extra-shift boycott effective, but stressful: survey
March 2022
March 9, 2022
COVID-19 positive nurses could return to work in Covid wards under health order changes – a move described as as sign of desperation by NZNO leadership.
Read more... Nurses with COVID-19 could be back at the coal face under health order changes
February 2022
March 7, 2022
Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) is temporarily closing four of its smaller regional hospitals to prepare for COVID-related staff absences, NZNO organiser Lynley Mulrine confirmed.
Read more... Canterbury regional hospitals closing as COVID-19 hits nurses
