Government accuses union of putting 'politics ahead of patients'
More than 36,000 members of the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) walked off their jobs on Tuesday for a two-day strike action, calling on the government to address staff shortages.
Nurses, midwives, healthcare assistants, and kaimahi hauora joined the strike action, which takes place on Tuesday and Thursday from 7am to 11pm.
"We became health workers because we want to care for people. But staff shortages have become overwhelming and exhausting for many of us," said NZNO delegate Noreen McCallan in a statement.
"Our patients are suffering longer because we can't get to them as quickly as we should."
Impact of strike action
Responding to the strike, Health Minister Simeon Brown slammed the NZNO for putting "politics ahead of patients."
"It will not shorten waitlists or improve care, it will only make delays worse for people already in pain and waiting for treatment," Brown said in a statement.
"The NZNO union has also refused to disclose how its members voted on this strike. They should be upfront about it. Patients and nurses deserve honesty, not secrecy."
The strike action is expected to impact around 2,251 surgeries and treatments, such as hip, knee, and cataract operations being cancelled or postponed, according to the minister.
It will also delay approximately 3,600 first specialist assessments, and postpone around 8,000 critical follow-up appointments.
"We call on the NZNO union to stop playing games with people's lives, step back from this strike and return to the bargaining table, and put patients first," Brown said.
McCallan, however, said the NZNO never left the bargaining table.
"NZNO has been in bargaining with Te Whatu Ora for almost a year. During this time NZNO has engaged in 28 days of bargaining, 13 of those were with support from the Mediation Service and three days in facilitation with the Employment Relations Authority," she said.
"We were in mediation with Te Whatu Ora as recently as Wednesday. However, our concerns about short staffing remain unaddressed."
McCallan added that strike participants did not take the industrial action lightly.
"We are doing this because we fear for the safety of our patients. We will lose two days' pay for striking but we are standing up for safe staffing because it is the right thing to do," she said.
