Nurses take action

28 Aug

Nurses are on strikes on September 2 and 4, from 7am-11pm. Taupō Hospital registered nurse Jo-Anne Gibb explains why.

OPINION: Many people may not understand nurses, doctors, teachers or any other profession have a right to strike over serious health and safety concerns.

You may roll your eyes at the news of a nurses' strike … again! You may be thinking: “Why are they striking? Why are they greedy? Do they have too high expectations? Can't they just get on with their jobs and stop the interruptions?”

No, we cannot, we must remain strong. We have to stand up for our patients, colleagues and whanau. We have to take action to be heard.

We need better conditions to care for you and your community, we need to work in an environment where we feel safe, we need to reduce the risk of harm to you and fellow colleagues on the floor. You are at risk because our country's leaders are putting cost-cutting ahead of your health.

Nurses forfeit a shift’s wage to go on strike; that's money out of our household budget to stand up for what is right. We do not abandon our posts lightly. We do not want to see your appointment or procedure postponed.

New Zealand loses tens of thousands of qualified and skilled staff to other countries every year. These nurses have not been replaced, their positions stay vacant and those who are left must work harder to cover the shortfall.

Our nurses are leaving in droves as it's only natural to seek out better conditions and earning potential. Wouldn't you for your whanau?

New Zealand needs to be attractive to train and retain new and qualified nurses to the profession. Data shows from January to November 2024 50% of all day shifts across 16 health districts were short-staffed. We need to look forward and dig our heels in to ensure our country has a generation of nurses to look after those who come after us.

We have not walked away from bargaining with our employer. However, we are currently at a stalemate after multiple failed attempts to reach an agreement.

Despite calls to continue negotiating we have not heard any more to improve our situation. We can legally go on strike as members of a union if collective bargaining talks break down, or if we believe there are serious health or safety issues at the workplace. We will continue to strike through the impasse; we are determined to secure an environment that meets everyones needs in our whenua.

Across the country and across all disciplines of nursing, from acute care to palliative care, our country has to do better. We need better nurse-to-patient staffing ratios for your whanau, to ensure your basic needs are met when you are most vulnerable.

Taupo HospitalNursesHealthHealthcare

Kim Manunui

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