Plunket and Hospice nurses refile pay equity claims

• First two Pay Equity claims filed under new regime
• 800 Plunket and 750 hospice workers covered by the two Nurses Organisation claims
• Currently paid up to 20 percent less than Health NZ nurses, who went on strike last week over pay and conditions

The first two pay equity claims under the government's tougher new regime were filed on Monday on behalf of Plunket and hospice nurses.

Nurses Organisation (NZNO) spokesperson Glenda Alexander said these two claims were "the most advanced" of the union's 12 previous claims, which were scrapped when the government suddenly changed the rules in May, just before the Budget.

"It's been a challenge, but we will be testing the government's word that these new amendments were made to make the process more robust and in fact more straightforward."

Hospice New Zealand and Plunket, which employed 1600 union members between them, were supportive of the claims, which would require more funding from central government, she said.

"Each heavily rely on fundraising, having to do appeals etc, which often has to go for equipment and things and does not necessarily cover extra staffing costs.

"It should be fully funded because both of those services are critical for both ends of the life continuum.

"Both employers are keen to progress it, we had done two years of work on calculations and assessments, so there had been a lot of cost expended on their part too, and there was a lot of frustration for both parties."

Plunket and hospice nurses were currently paid between 10 and 20 percent less than those employed directly by Health NZ / Te Whatu Ora, Alexander said.

More than 36,000 nurses and healthcare assistants employed by Health NZ carried out two full-day strikes last week as their own contract negotiations foundered over pay and staffing levels.

There was "some cynicism" regarding the pay equity changes, which were pushed through under urgency by the government, saving it $12.8b over four years, Alexander continued.

"Why are we doing this over and over again when we believe we already proved our case with the Te Whatu Ora nurses in the first instance?

"These nurses do significantly the same or very similar work, so it shouldn't be that for an occupational group like nurses we have to prove it with every employer."

Hospice nurse Fiona McDougal said almost 95 percent of NZNO nurses and support staff working for Hospice were female.

"Our work involves supporting, counselling, and caring for people of all ages needing end-of-life and holistic palliative care in Hospice, their homes and the community. We also support their whānau.

"It is skilled and difficult work that not everyone is cut out for. Our work is a crucial part of a caring society. Yet it is work that has long been considered that of women. For that reason, we continue to be underpaid."

Plunket nurse Hannah Cook, another NZNO delegate, estimated around 98 percent of Plunket nurses were female.

"About 80 percent of all newborn babies in Aotearoa New Zealand are seen by skilled and experienced Whānau Āwhina Plunket nurses like me.

"Yet because care work has been historically and systemically devalued in homes and communities, the work we do has been undervalued and underpaid.

"For my colleagues and I, today is an important day. Our mahi is important and we deserve to be paid at the same level for our skills and experience as those in a comparable male dominated occupation."

The next step was for their employers to confirm the claims have met the merit threshold under the new regime, and meet with the union to agree a process on assessing the claims.

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