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NZNO — Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa delegate Rachael Webb said members had overwhelmingly rejected Access’ latest offer and voted to go on a second all-day strike today around the country, Advertisement 
 “It’s insulting — we want pay parity [with Te Whatu Ora] and they offer us a dollar?’ she told Kaitiaki from a busy Pito-one picket line on Monday morning.
About 155 community nurses around the country have been in negotiations with Access Community Health for the past year, after their collective agreement lapsed last year on June 30. Advertisement  After a strike last month, Access offered its nurses another dollar per hour (not back paid) and long-service leave for nurses who had worked there for more than seven years.  But with a pay gap of up to $18,000 per annum between community and hospital nurses, Webb said $1-per-hour fell far short.
“Some people can’t afford to get food for their families.” And under current conditions, “we’re not going to stick around for seven years” for long-service leave, Webb said. |
Who are community nurses?By Caitlyn Dunford-Baker  Community nurses help your loved ones pass away in the comfort of their own home Community nurses pull themselves out of bed at 3am in the morning, because you, or someone you love called needing nursing assistance Community nurses work to relieve pressure on the mainstream health care system Community nurses work alone, so when something goes wrong, we cannot push an emergency button and have other health professionals running to our aid Community nurses work 365 days a year 24/7 . Public holidays do not exist Community nurses are often forced to put themselves in potentially dangerous situations all for a duty of care Community nurses will visit you in your home while you are recovering from a major surgery or accident Community nurses may be the only person your elderly neighbour sees or speaks to all week Community nurses might be seen walking alone into the gang pad down the road, because everyone is entitled to equal health care Community nurses allow your grandparents to remain in their own homes for as long as they can So why is there such a huge pay disparity between hospital and community nurses? We feel undervalued and unseen Access Community Health please hear our voices! We have been in negotiations for over a year, with absolutely no progress made. We deserve so much better!! —Caitlyn Dunford Baker is a Canterbury community nurse We are striking for fair pay. You are possibly thinking — didn’t nurses just get a pay rise? YES, hospital nurses did, but NOT community nurses. We are not owned and operated by the DHB. In fact we are owned by an Australian company, where in Australia the pay is even significantly higher than hospital employed nurses in New Zealand. |
“We’re in the community because this is where our passion is — but they are driving us out because we can’t afford to stay in this crucial, high-needs area.”
Even though Access had received an eight per cent funding boost through the Government’s $200 million disparity fund for community organisations they had not passed any of it on to staff, she said. “Where is that funding? We don’t know where it’s gone.”
Webb said staff also wanted more opportunities for experienced nurses to progress and be recognised, by adding an extra step to the pay scale to bring it into line with Te Whatu Ora. Currently, Access offers only six steps, compared to seven at Te Whatu Ora.
Nurses should also be regularly moved up the scale each year as they became more experienced, rather than it being at the employer’s discretion, Webb said.
With no agreement struck as bargaining dragged on for the past year, Webb said nurses had already lost a year of progression up the pay scales.
Community nurses also wanted to increase their sick leave entitlement from 10 to 20 days, as per Te Whatu Ora.
Webb said many of their patients were vulnerable elderly and disabled people who they were supporting to stay in their homes.
Access Community Health began in 1927 in the South Island to care for people in remote settings. Often its nurses travelled on horseback and were known as bush nurses.
However it, along with wound care specialists Total Care Health Services, were both sold last year by Green Cross Health to Australian private equity company, Anchorage, for NZ$50 million.
Nurses and kaiāwhina in primary health care have long been battling for pay parity with hospital staff — a gap which widened further after Te Whatu Ora members accepted a new pay deal last year.
Access Community Health has been asked for a comment.