Striking workers seek fair pay and a stop in sick leave cuts
Support workers at Nurse Maude staged another strike action to demand fair pay and to stop their employer from reducing their sick leave days.
The Public Service Association (PSA) said picket lines are set up in Christchurch and Nelson.
"Christchurch picket is still on - Cnr Papanui Road & Mansfield Ave, Merivale (close to Nurse Maude's Mansfield Ave premises)," the PSA said on Facebook.
The picket line in Wellington, however, was cancelled due to the weather conditions, according to the union.
"Even if pickets are cancelled, strikes are still on! Their employer still has not put forward a reasonable offer on pay and are cutting two of their sick leave days!" the PSA said.
'Disappointed' workers stage strike
The strike was the first of the two actions announced by the PSA over the weekend, with the second one happening on 14 September.
"Nurse Maude workers are disappointed that their employer still has not put forward a reasonable offer on pay and are cutting two of their sick leave days," said Fleur Fitzsimons, national secretary of the PSA, in a statement.
The support workers' strike comes after previous strike actions held on 31 July and 10 August.
"Nurse Maude needs to bring a fair pay offer and withdraw threats to sick leave. Until then, Nurse Maude workers will continue with strike action," Fitzsimons said.
The PSA added it has filed for facilitation in the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) to resolve the dispute.
"Nurse Maude is out of step with other publicly funded employers who recognise the importance of sick leave to these workers and provide extra sick leave days," Fitzsimons said.
HRD New Zealand has reached out to Nurse Maude for comments.
