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More than 3,400 healthcare workers on the front lines of the Covid-19 response stopped working for two hours this morning to protest pay parity with hospital nurses.
Healthcare nurses and medical administrators from 500 general practices and medical centers stopped working from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Wednesday, the New Zealand Nurses Organization (NZNO) said.
Nurses in primary health centers are paid 10.6% less than those who work for district health boards, leaving them worse off by $ 7,650 a year.
Members voted in favor of the strike for the first time on September 3, with demonstrations across the country, after nurses described being abused by patients frustrated by long waits for Covid-19 tests. .
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* Coronavirus: Covid-19 front-line test nurses vote in favor of strike
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The rallies are expected to push the government to the negotiating table, with the NZNO setting the funding gap for equal pay at $ 15 million.
The presidents of the Royal College of General Practitioners of New Zealand, Dr Sam Murton, said that GPs were in favor of their staff having a fair salary.
CHRIS SKELTON / Things
Primary health care members of the New Zealand Nurses Organization (NZNO) demonstrated on Bealey Ave in Christchurch in support of their one-day strike on 3 September.
But it is unclear how the funding gap will be addressed. Primary healthcare became the frontline for Covid-19 earlier this year, but it also suffered a drop in revenue when fewer people walked through its doors.
“The thing about how GPs are funded is that there is a lump sum and it is expected to cover things like payment,” Murton said.
“As pay changes in the healthcare sector, there needs to be a way to finance it within GPs. The money has to come from somewhere. “
General practice nurses treat many illnesses, including diabetes, smears, vaccines, and chronic conditions.
“The complexity is not recognized,” he said.
Health Minister Chris Hipkins said he highly values the work of nurses both inside and outside the public health service.
“However, nurses working in non-DHB workplaces, including primary health care, are employed by private employers. Her salary and conditions are not negotiated with the Government or with entities of the Crown, ”she said.
It was not appropriate for the government to interfere in that process, Hipkins said.
“This is a complicated issue – for example, there is a wide range of collective and individual agreements in the sector and there is no guarantee under current arrangements that increases in government funding have been transferred to employees in the past or that they will be in the future.
“Consequently, it is not as simple as the government financing the ‘gap’.”
The government funds GPs by the number of people on their list. General practitioners also charge a fee called a copayment, which is limited by the government.
