The NZNO bargaining team arrived at Christchurch Hospital to members supporting them, reminding them that they have the backing of 35,000 nurses across the country.
“Our bargaining team has some huge work ahead, so we wanted to make sure they went into that room with our visible support,” NZNO delegate Bruce McIntosh says.
“About 20 nurses turned out to support the team, carrying images of their fellow nurses who wanted to remind Te Whatu Ora that NZNO has the backing of 35,000 nurses across the country.”
This year’s bargaining is taking place at a time when our health system is in crisis, McIntosh says.
“There is a chronic shortage of thousands of nurses at Te Whatu Ora nurses which is leading to increased wait times in emergency departments and compromising the quality of patient care.
“Understaffing in our hospitals has been exacerbated with the Government’s obsession with cutting costs.
“With a commissioner appointed to Te Whatu Ora and a voluntary redundancy process underway, there’s no doubt our bargaining team has their work cut out for them.”
The bargaining will continue tomorrow.