Following mediation in late January the New Zealand Nurses Organisation are waiting for the 20 DHBs to consider whether they can come back with a new offer by February 26.
The online petition was launched by NZNO in December after members voted to reject the DHBs’ initial multi-employer collective agreement (MECA).
NZNO Industrial Adviser Lesley Harry said nurses want to achieve pay rates and conditions that led to sustainable workforce and healthy workplaces.
She said any new offer needed to deliver improvements on the key issues – including a improved pay offer, safe staffing cand a firmer timeframe for pay equity – if it was to be accepted by members.
NZNO delegates Sarah Gilbertson and Karen Durham presented the petition to DHBs’ advocate Kevin McFadgen and said pay and conditions had to improve in order to sustain a quality health care service.
The pair said the issue was about recognising and rewarding a predominately female workforce. “The outcome of these negotiations is a reflection on our society and the value we place on health. Well supported health teams improve the health of all New Zealanders.”
NZNO has set up a series of MECA meetings between March 6-23 for its 27,000 registered nurse, enrolled nurse, midwife and health care assistant members covered by the NZNO/DHB MECA.
Prior to mediation the union indicated that it would not rule out using the March meetings to vote on industrial action, if a deal couldn’t be reached that it believed members would be ready to accept.
Late last month Health Minister David Clark told Nursing Review that he understood nurses’ and other health workers hopes for better salaries under the new Government but the was reality was that “not everyone’s expectations will be met”.
PETTION:
Dear District Health Board Chief Executives
‘Nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants are the heart of our public healthcare services. Their skills, hard work and compassion keep all New Zealanders happy, safe, and healthy. I support better pay and healthy workplaces in our public healthcare services for our precious nursing and midwifery teams. Please keep our local health services safe and sustainable by delivering our nurses a better deal.’
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The NZNO and negotiating team for the 20 District Health Boards entered mediation on January 31 after NZNO’s DHB nurses, midwives and health care assistants voted to reject the initial pay offer made in November.
The NZNO negotiating team said in an update that it presented the findings of its online member survey to last week’s mediation, including that members wanted an increased pay offer, safe staffing, a shorter term for the agreement (the original offer was for a 33 month term), and a firmer timeframe for pay equity.
“We were clear that any revised offer will require additional funding as trading off improvements from the previous offer would not be acceptable,” said the update to the about 27,000 members that will be covered by the new DHB/NZNO MECA (multi-employer collective agreement).
The original pay offer – a two per cent increase, backdated to November 6, for the majority of nurses and midwives covered by the MECA and further two per cent pay rise in August 2018 and August 2019 – was widely viewed by nurses as too little too late. Members were also divided on how quickly the initial offer’s agreement to start negotiating a pay equity settlement would deliver results for nurses.
The NZNO negotiators said the DHBs were now “going to look at their ability to reconstruct an offer that addresses NZNO concerns”. The DHBs were due to report back to NZNO by February 26 and members were to be updated on the outcome prior to a series of member meetings running from March 6 to March 23.
“Should DHBs agree to an improved offer the update will include the detail the offer for members to vote on at the meetings,” said the update.
Prior to mediation the union indicated that it would not rule out using the March meetings to vote on industrial action, if a deal couldn’t be reached that it believed members would be ready to accept.
Late last month Health Minister David Clark told Nursing Review that he understood nurses’ and other health workers hopes for better salaries under the new Government but the was reality was that “not everyone’s expectations will be met”.
]]>Survey respondents were also found to be divided over what gains the the proposed pay equity process –due to start after the new contract is settled – would deliver and how quickly.
The online survey followed the New Zealand Nurses Organisation’s District Health Board members voting to reject the 20 DHB’s MECA (multi-employer collective agreement) offer with strong social media feedback that many felt the offer fell short of reflecting the skills and increasing workloads of nurses.
The union and employer negotiating teams were starting mediation today with the union not ruling out a vote on industrial action if a deal can’t be reached that members are ready to accept.
In a survey summary to members the NZNO negotiating team said safe staffing was also reiterated as a key issue by members concerned about continuing to work “under-staffed and under pressure”.
Other issues highlighted was that members felt back pay or a lump sum was important (the current agreement expired on July 31 last year), and most members favoured a two year term (the original offer was for a 33 month term).
The initial pay offer included an agreement to start negotiating a pay equity settlement and the survey found that 80 per cent of respondents backed a strategy to have pay parity with medical radiation technologists (MRTs) and allied health professionals. The survey showed members were divided on whether the pay equity could deliver but survey respondents had indicated that a better base scale pay offer could increase their support of the proposed pay equity process.
A petition seeking public support for a better pay offer for district health board nurses had also reached nearly 13,800 signatures as mediation got underway today.
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Health Minister David Clark says he understands nurses’ and other health workers’ hopes for better salaries under the new Government, but the reality is that “not everyone’s expectations will be met”.
He was responding to questions from Nursing Review and online health hub Health Central about New Zealand Nurses Organisation members rejecting the 20 district health boards’ pay offer of roughly two per cent a year, amidst expectations that the incoming Government may be more open to funding a more “respectful” offer.
Minister for Women Julie Anne Genter, who is also Associate Minister of Health (but in that capacity has no responsibility for wage settlements), says she is aware that nurses’ expectations are high and meeting everybody’s expectations poses “fiscal challenges” as there is a lot of investment that the new Government needs to catch up on.
Clark said he would not comment on the negotiations, which are due to go to mediation at the end of the month – with NZNO not ruling out industrial action if a better offer was not reached – or pre-empt the mediation outcomes.
“But I can understand firstly why those nurses might have hopes of better things. This is a government that wants to see a more sustainable health sector. We don’t intend to run it down like our predecessors did. We want to ensure there are healthy workplaces and safe staffing and more sustainable funding over time.”
He said he needed to better understand why the NZNO negotiating team thought the initial pay offer would be accepted by members and why it was rejected.
“But the public also has an expectation based on the priorities outlined and the promises made that there will be more services delivered.”
“So the money that we pledged to put into healthcare won’t all go into salary raises,” said Clark. “Not everyone’s expectations will be met. I think that is the reality and I think we need to be upfront about that. But a Labour Government recognises the need to have a sustainably funded workforce and the need to make sure we have safe staffing and healthy workplaces.”
Nurses and midwives underpaid
Genter said as Minister for Women her number one priority was new pay equity legislation and working to close the gender pay gap in the public service.
“Female-dominated professions like midwives and nurses have structurally lower pay,” said Genter. “Those professions have been underpaid and undervalued because they are female-dominated.”
She said where there were MECAs (multi-employer collective agreements) for specialists or doctors the gender pay gap had disappeared, because so many more women were pursuing medicine and becoming specialists.
“But across the health workforce it is not necessarily the case and there is still more work to be done to rectify the pay gap.” She is aware of the NZNO’s pay equity claim for its DHB nurses, midwives and health care assistants. She said such pay equity claims are not her responsibility alone, but as Minister for Women she is working with other ministers on pay equity legislation to progress such claims (see below).
“Obviously this government is very supportive of closing the gender pay gap and lifting pay for the lowest paid workers, and valuing all of the professions that add so much to life in Aotearoa – we can’t do without them.”
Genter, in her role as Associate Minister of Health, spoke to Health Central about her two new delegations for health – population health (built environment) and climate change – along with women’s health, sexual health and disability services.
Next step to new pay equity legislation
This week Genter, in her role as Minister for Women, and Iain Lees-Galloway, the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety, announced the reconvening of the Joint Working Group on Pay Equity Principles as the first step to new pay equity legislation.
The original group was set up in 2015 to develop principles to guide pay equity implementation, but Galloway said these principles had been ‘undermined’ by the pay equity bill introduced in July last year by the former government, which would have made pay equity claims tougher for women. The bill was scrapped by the incoming government in November.
The new working group has been charged with considering the issues around how to determine the merit of a pay equity claim and how to select appropriate male comparative professions/trades to compare the pay rates of women workers who lodge pay equity claims.
The group, facilitated by Traci Houpapa, meets today, January 24, and is due to make its recommendations to Ministers by the end of February. “Once we receive the recommendations, we will work to develop pay equity legislation which we expect to introduce mid-2018,” said Genter.
The tripartite partners include government representatives, unions (led by the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions) and employers (led by BusinessNZ and the Employers and Manufacturers Association).
]]>The “I heart Nurses” petition was launched just before Christmas and NZNO industrial advisor Chris Wilson said it was pleased with the take-up over the holiday period and expected to well-exceed its original target of 10,000 signatures. The total had reached more than 9,200 on January 17.
The petition followed the NZNO’s District Health Board members voting to reject the 20 DHB’s MECA (multi-employer collective agreement) offer with strong social media feedback that many felt the offer fell short of reflecting the skills and increasing workloads of nurses. The union and employer negotiating teams are now heading for mediation on January 31 with the union not ruling out a vote on industrial action if a deal can’t be reached that members are ready to accept.
The “I heart nurses” petition is part of the union’s campaign to garner public support in the lead-up to the mediation and argues thats that nurses want pay rates that provide for “a sustainable workforce and healthy workplaces”.
“DHBs need to pay nursing and midwifery teams delivering our healthcare services fairly for their skills,” says the petition’s preamble. “We need to retain and attract enough healthcare professionals to meet our country’s growing health needs and ensure we all have a high-quality, safe and modern healthcare system in Aotearoa New Zealand.”
The petition is directed to the DHB chief executives and says nurses, midwives, and healthcare assistants are the ‘heart of our public healthcare services” and calls on the CEOs to help keep “local health services safe and sustainable” by delivering nurses a better deal.
You can view the petition here.
]]>In mid-December the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) announced that its nurse, midwife and healthcare assistant DHB members had voted to reject the proposed new DHB MECA (multi-employer collective agreement) during 400 meetings held across the country.
The pay offer – a two per cent increase, backdated to November 6, for the majority of nurses and midwives covered by the MECA, and further two per cent pay rise in August 2018 and August 2019 had been widely criticised in social media by some of the 27,000 NZNO members covered by the proposed deal as being too low and not adequately reflecting the pressure and stress they had worked under in recent years (see details of the rejected offer here).
In its update to members on December 13, the NZNO negotiating team said the rejection of the proposed MECA showed that DHB members believed a “better offer was worth the very serious consideration of possible industrial action”.
It said the team would “take every opportunity in front of us” to achieve a better offer through mediation (due to begin January 31) without resorting to industrial action. But it had scheduled a series of meetings starting in late February to update DHB members on the negotiation’s progress and those meetings could be used to hold a ballot on industrial action.
“Should industrial action occur, we will work with DHBs to provide essential services for people who need them,” said the MECA update. “We are aware of your professional commitment to your patients and although it hasn’t happened for a long time, we have experience of industrial action and balancing the two.”
A spokesperson for the DHBs’ negotiating team has yet to respond to Nursing Review’s request for comment.
NZNO industrial advisor Chris Wilson said participation is going well in its online survey of DHB members. The survey is being used to get formal confirmation from DHB members of the anecdotal feedback negotiators had received on what were the major issues that members wanted addressed when the negotiations go to mediation on January 31. The survey went online just before Christmas and is due to close at 4pm on Thursday, January 18.
Wilson said the survey did not include a question on whether to pursue industrial action if mediation failed to meet a resolution, and instead focused on getting formal feedback on what was needed to reach a MECA deal that members would accept.
She said the NZNO negotiators at this point were very much committed to the mediation process. “Obviously we will see what occurs on Jan 31.” A reserve day for mediation has also been set for early February.
“Industrial action does remain a possibility if we’re not able to secure an outcome through mediation that members are comfortable with,” said Wilson. But she said it was hopeful that once employers saw the issues highlighted by members in its online survey the negotiations “might make some grounds”.
The December 13 MECA update to NZNO DHB members said that it understood that the members key reasons for rejection were as follows:
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The DHBs’ offer – that had been endorsed by the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) negotiating team – had been widely criticised in social media by some of the 27,000 nurses, midwives and health care assistant members of NZNO covered by the proposed deal.
The pay offer – a two per cent increase, backdated to November 6, for the majority of nurses and midwives covered by the MECA and further two per cent pay rise in August 2018 and August 2019 –appeared to be seen as too little too late. The offer also included a small lump sum of $350 and an agreement in principle by the 20 DHBs to progressing a pay equity claim with negotiations to begin in the year. (See details of the rejected offer here)
Harry acknowledged that the members rejection reflected their views that the offer “failed to respect nurses, midwives and health car assistants and the huge effort and value they bring to patients and our communities”. She said the next formal step was likely to be mediation between NZNO and the DHBs. Nursing Review has sought comment from the DHBs’ negotiating team spokesperson but they had not responded at this point.
Nurses on social media had expressed disappointment and frustration that the DHBs’ offer was about or below inflation, it didn’t reflect growing pressures and responsibilities placed on nurses in the workplace and it wouldn’t reinstate the pay relativity lost by this year’s $2 billion pay equity settlement to care and support workers in the aged care and disability sector.
Harry also acknowledged that it appeared members did not have confidence that the agreement in principle by DHBs to start pay equity negotiations would see extra money in their pockets soon.
“I think members lost a lot of trust and confidence over the years of austerity,” said Harry. She said the negotiating team had supported the DHBs pay offer on the basis of the DHBs seeing merit in the pay equity claim and the new government’s support of pay equity.
“The negotiating team were certainly more optimistic (about the likelihood of getting a pay equity settlement) than the feedback we’ve got from members,” said Harry. “And we will take the opportunity between now and we get to meet with our members next to fully inform them of what the pay equity process is.”
Harry would not disclose whether voters resoundingly or narrowly rejected the offer. But she did say it was pleased with the turnout at the 400 meetings held across DHBs in the past few weeks which was probably the highest turnout in more than a decade.
Posters on social media in the past few weeks – both for and against the offer – had called on nurses to turn up to meetings to be briefed on the details and make their voice count.
Harry said anecdotally it had a sense of what offer might be acceptable for members but it was first going to canvas members, via an electronic survey, so the negotiating team could be “absolutely confident” on what members would be prepared to ratify. The aim was to post the survey before Christmas.
She said the timing of the mediation was not known yet but NZNO was setting up a series of member meetings in late February that would either be follow-up meetings to discuss next steps or “all going well” might have a ratifiable offer to put to members by then.
“Of course nurses and DHB employers will be doing their best to reach an employment agreement acceptable to both parties,” said Harry.
“Consideration of industrial action will only occur if NZNO and DHBs cannot achieve a resolution of the issues members have raised,” Harry confirmed.
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It was revealed today that a new deal – a six per cent pay rise spread over just under three years – was offered by the DHBs on November 8 after, it is understood, successfully seeking sign-off from new Health Minister David Clark for additional funding. The offer also includes an “agreement in principle” by the DHBs to the merit of NZNO’s separate pay equity claim with negotiations on pay equity due to begin in February.
The pay deal now on offer is for an initial two per cent increase, backdated to November 6, for the majority of nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants covered by the DHB/NZNO multi-employer collective agreement (MECA) and further two per cent pay rises in August 2018 and August 2019. In addition there is a lump sum payment of $350 for current NZN0 MECA members who are permanent DHB employees. Designated senior nurses and midwives are being offered a four per cent pay rise backdated from November 6 and then two per cent pay rises in August 2018 and August 2019.
The DHBs’ initial pay offer was made in mid-October, prior to the new Government being formed, and NZNO negotiators have now revealed that they recommended the 27,000 registered nurse, enrolled nurse, midwife and healthcare assistant members covered by the MECA to vote against that first offer in the series of ratification meetings due to start on November 22.
That initial offer had a six-month delay before the first pay increase and a 43-month term, rather than the 33-month term now being offered.
“But on November 8 NZNO was informed that the DHB CEOs were meeting with the Minister for approval to go beyond the financial parameter so that they could increase the offer and that the CEOs would manage/address the additional costs within their budgets,” said NZNO in a MECA bulletin update to its members, that was revised on November 17 to clarify what lead to the new offer.*
Lesley Harry, the NZNO’s industrial advisory, said it believed having a new Minister of Health had “provided the opportunity to push the parameters a little further” leading to the latest offer.
NZNO negotiators are telling members that they believe the latest offer is “a fair settlement that delivers on most key issues and providers processes with set timeframes to address others”. It also noted that the overall cost of the offer was greater than other recent MECA settlements in the DHB sector.
When the MECA negotiations began in June the union also tabled an historic pay equity claim for nurses.
The negotiating team said the DHBs had now agreed in principle that the work of nurses, HCA and midwives is predominantly performed by women, and had been “historically undervalued and subject to systemic undervaluation”.
The union said it had also reached agreement on the process and timeframes for resolving pay equity issues with negotiations due to begin in February “with the goal of achieving an outcome later in 2018”.
A major plank of the negotiations was also safe staffing and the current slow implementation by DHBs of the Care Capacity Demand Management (CCDM) tools that use evidence-based data to calculate how many nurses need to be employed on a ward to deliver safe, quality patient care. (See recent Nursing Review story on DHB announcing nursing staff boost due to CCDM.)
The negotiators said the DHBs had now agreed to a package of changes that it believed would strengthen the DHBs obligations to deliver CCDM.
*Article updated at 12.45 on November 17 to reflect correction to NZNO MECA bulletin.
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Details of the deal – agreed to by the negotiating parties yesterday – are not yet available but NZNO said an update would be released to members prior to ratification meetings getting underway from November 20 onwards.
The proposed new DHB/NZNO multi-employer collective agreement (MECA) will cover about 27,000 registered nurse, enrolled nurse, midwife and healthcare assistant members of NZNO working for the 20 DHBs.
Kevin McFadgen, the DHBs lead advocate for the MECA negotiations, told Nursing Review that the negotiated deal would be presented to DHB representatives next week, but he was “fairly confident” it would be approved by the DHBs.
McFadgen said the safe staffing Care Capacity Demand Management (CCDM) system was part of the negotiated deal. He said there was also a possible pathway for progressing the pay equity claim tabled by NZNO at the start of the negotiations.
Lesley Harry, the NZNO’s industrial advisor, was unavailable but a MECA update on the NZNO’s website said the bargaining team would meet on November 8 to “work through” the details of the employer’s offer ready to present to members prior to the ratification meetings scheduled from November 20 to December 8.
Harry also published a blog today expressing concern about social media being used by some to attempt to “misinform and influence” decisions during the negotiations.
“NZNO has a responsibility to uphold its democratic decision-making processes and is obliged not to be swayed by influences outside of those processes, including comments on social media,” said Harry in the NZNO blog.
“NZNO has an obligation to act in good faith during bargaining with both employers and members. Suggestions on social media that members have in the past been coerced to vote in a particular way is incorrect and unhelpful.”
She stressed that a recommendation from the negotiating team and informing members of the options did “not equate to telling members how to vote”. She added that any decision to take industrial action was a collective one and was not taken lightly. “Some comments on social media suggest that strike action may occur at whim and without the need to follow due process, this is simply not the case.”
Harry said the voting options to be presented at the upcoming secret ballot ratification meetings were likely to be similar to those put to the 2015 meetings, which outlined what would happen if the offer was accepted (complete and sign the MECA as soon as possible), the offer was rejected (seek mediation to attempt to improve the offer). If an improved offer was not achieved, the team would come back to members with support for an action plan that might include a ballot on some form of industrial action.
The previous DHB/NZNO MECA expired on July 31. That two-year contract included a two per cent pay increase in July 2015 and a further two per cent in July 2016. In 2015 the negotiating team did not recommend the initial offer and – based on feedback from members at the ratification meetings which rejected the offer – negotiated an improved offer, which was passed at the second round of ratification meetings.
]]>Lesley Harry, NZNO industrial advisor, said a second facilitated forum was being held today on addressing chronic understaffing and implementing the safe staffing Care Capacity Demand Management (CCDM) tools with DHB, Ministry of Health and New Zealand Nurses Organisation representatives
Chief Nursing Officer Dr Jane O’Malley confirmed she is attending the meeting on how to hasten the roll out of CCDM as the Ministry’s executive representative and as “an observer and support”.
Harry said today’s (16 August) CCDM safe staffing forum was a follow-up to an earlier forum held on July 18 to help inform the multi-employer collective (MECA) negotiations which got underway between the DHB and NZNO in June.
During the 2015 negotiations the DHBs ‘reaffirmed’ their commitment to implementing the safe staffing CCDM system* including making a ‘timely response’ when CCDM analysis showed that more nursing positions were needed to meet patient acuity and demand trends. But by midway through this year only 14 DHBs were underway with implementing CCDM and few had completed full implementation.
Harry said in negotiations earlier this month NZNO had reiterated issues relating to its pay equity claim and intended to discuss Australian comparators when negotiations resumed on August 23.
In early August NZNO negotiators had also held discussions with DHB directors of nursing over plans for registered nurse (RN) prescribers and how the RN prescriber role might fit into the current employment agreement’s senior nurse framework.
The MECA negotiations cover about 27,000 registered nurse, enrolled nurse, midwife and health care assistant members of NZNO. The current MECA expired on 31 July.
In its latest MECA bargaining update the NZNO said it had also agreed to refer discussions about support for victims of domestic and family violence to a joint forum on 5 September with fellow health unions, the Public Service Association (PSA) and E tū.