An historic pay settlement for nurses has left some feeling betrayed.
On Friday, district health boards and the New Zealand Nurses Organisation revealed an equity settlement had been reached – acknowledging nurses are underpaid because the role has traditionally been held by women.
NZNO and the Public Service Association lodged pay equity claims for around 40,000 nurses in a range of roles in hospitals and community settings in 2017 and 2018 respectively.
The complex assessment process involves determining if sex-based undervaluation has occurred by comparing the pay of nurses to that of roles mostly performed by men with a similar value.
The comparison for ‘value’ is based on the skills, demands, responsibilities and working conditions involved.
The settlement announced includes pay rises for nurses of around $6000 to $16,000 based on their nursing role and experience.
Both unions worked on the deal, alongside representatives for district health boards, Ministry of Health, Public Services Commission and a Crown negotiator.
“It's good for the future, it's good for the profession, we hope that this will attract more people to come back and work in the profession,” says NZNO Industrial Services Manager Glenda Alexander.
But some nurses are disappointed the new pay rates won’t be back paid to 31 December 2019, which was agreed to by nurses in previous separate collective agreement pay rounds since the equity claims were lodged.
1News has seen NZNO newsletter updates from 2019 and 2020, which state increased wages and benefits will apply from the end of 2019.
“It’s a massive slap in the face that they have even thought of doing this for us.
“It’s a complete and utter lie, they have completely disrespected us, if we were doctors they would never treat us in this way,” Wellington Hospital clinical nurse coordinator Ryan Teahan says.
Alexander said the union went into bargaining with expectations full back pay would be provided.
“Once the new pay rates were identified that then became a challenge because they were a lot, kind of better than we had thought and that's great, that’s great news because that’s what we were actually aiming to do… then we had to turn our minds to how can we get as much back pay on this as we possibly can within the Government’s mandate or preparedness to pay for it.”
“I’ve got no problems with members saying that was their expectation and that was our expectation up until we finally got the agreement in principle just before Christmas and then that was confidential until we got the complete pay equity settlement signed off, which in actual fact is not completely.
"Signatures are not on the paper but we’ve been told it’s gone through all levels of the approval process which includes the Treasury releasing the funds to pay for this outcome,” Alexander says.
She said the Crown negotiator told them if full back pay was provided, the new pay rates would be phased in over time.
“We thought it was much more beneficial for members particularly in the current context of rising costs and everything that people had a higher rate in their pockets now then have to wait on it.”
A $10,000 lump sum payment is part of the settlement, but $7000 of that has already been provided to nurses in advance through collective pay agreements, as an acknowledgement for delays to the equity settlement process.
“It’s a bit sad that this should have been the day that we were celebrating an achievement, a landmark pay settlement for nursing work,” says Alexander.
“It’s not just for the nurses in the DHBs, this will need to be rolled out to nurses regardless of their practice setting and so looking at the rate of pay for a registered nurse as established through this process, if that was in aged care, if that was in primary health, if it was Māori and iwi, that would be amazing and that’s what we hope to achieve, it’s just a real shame the back pay issue has detracted from the whole excitement of what has been achieved."
Wellington Hospital nurse and NZNO delegate, Sarah Ward, says she was expecting around $35,000 in back payment.
Ward says this would have provided a buffer as she is living from pay cheque to pay cheque and doing extra shifts to pay for rent in Wellington.
“I feel like I've lied to the other nurses.
“I feel really disappointed in our union and the Government."
She says the outcome isn’t in line with the spirit of the equity settlement.
“I feel that if we were really treated as our male counterparts we would have been back-paid.
“They’re treating us like that – that we are women, that we’re caring, that we will just roll over."
Ward says she isn’t recommending the profession to others due to the lack of recognition for the conditions they work in.
“I said to nursing students last night who are in their second year, ‘don’t do it, quit now, cut your losses, it’s just not worth it, it’s not worth burning out."
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