Nurses are essential in communities as the first point of contact for health care services and are more important than ever during an era of a worldwide pandemic.
In early July, around 30,000 healthcare workers in New Zealand prepared to conduct three strikes in protest of a 1.38% offered pay rise – a pay increase that barely kept up with inflation.
The strikes and subsequent negotiations achieved a new offer of 3.3%. Although New Zealand has done relatively well regarding the Covid-19 pandemic in terms of preventing a large outbreak, the country is not well equipped to deal with a large outbreak should one arise. The lack of staff has been a major issue following the government’s strict border restrictions.
Nursing is not an easy profession. It is also one where many individuals feel undervalued and as a result, many are leaving the industry. The New Zealand government has committed to hiring more nurses and other healthcare workers – something that should help take the workload off those already in the profession. That is just solving one of the many underlying issues.
The reason why the pay in the nursing profession is so low is in part due to gender discrimination says Industry services manager Glenda Alexander where traditionally female dominated work was typically undervalued. It is important for this to be discussed with those that have the power to close that gap and while there are ongoing negotiations, strikes are still scheduled for August 19 and September 9 of this year.
Healthcare workers are saying that those who are making the decisions may need to get a realistic idea of what it is like for nurses and caretakers and the difficulties they face in order to be more empathetic to their situation, rather than make decisions behind a desk.