That’s the message from Tracey Morgan, spokesperson for the NZNO-Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa primary health-care bargaining team.
“All nurses should be paid the same because they have all studied the same but that’s not the case – the nurses you see in GP clinics throughout the country are paid much less than those nurses you see in public hospitals.
“This is forcing our nurses out of the frying pan into the fire. And that’s not a good hīkoi to be on.”
The bargaining team resumed their talks with primary health care employers last week to tell them they have “had enough,” following last year’s last round of bargaining that saw employers offer no more than three per cent pay increases.
Primary care nurses are leaving GP clinics to work in hospitals because they get paid 18 per cent more despite having the same skills and qualifications, she said.
“We are moving from being hōhā to getting ready to do the biggest haka we’ve ever done before. We’ve had enough and will not compromise anymore.”
‘We are moving from being hōhā to getting ready to do the biggest haka we’ve ever done before. We’ve had enough and will not compromise anymore.’
The employers are due to get back to the bargaining team next week with their response, Morgan said.
A Victoria University of Wellington study has found 36 per cent of New Zealand’s general practices didn’t take new enrolments in 2024, with workforce shortages cited as the major reason people were being turned away.
“The Coalition Government’s focus on the health sector is misdirected and their five health targets will continue to miss the mark until they deal with the pressing issue – chronic staff shortages in primary care.
“When people can’t get into their GP, they can end up at hospital even sicker. This puts more pressure on our already stretched hospitals and the Government’s own targets will be harder to meet.”
“It is time for the Government to pay primary care nurses the same as their hospital counterparts and introduce a sustainable funding model for the primary care sector.
“Until this is done, it is everyday New Zealanders who are trying to see a doctor when they are sick who will pay the price.
“New Health Minister Simeon Brown has said he is ‘an advocate for everyday Kiwis who simply want timely, quality health-care when they need it’. Here is his solution,” Morgan said.
Responding to the study yesterday, Brown said primary health care was top priority.
“There’s always more we can do and we must do that . . . and there is a range of factors behind what is needed to ensure Kiwis can access timely and quality care whether at the doctors or through emergency departments,” he told RNZ.