Midwives strike

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Gisborne Hospital midwives walked off the job today as they followed their health board colleagues in a series of rolling eight-hour strikes which started on Monday.

Midwives and members of Midwifery Employee Representation & Advisory Service (MERAS) at Tairawhiti, Hawke's Bay, Mid Central, Whanganui, Wairarapa and Canterbury health boards were to strike from 11am to 7pm today.

MERAS co-leader Jill Ovens said one problem was that there was limited ability to negotiate because the health board advocates were not the decision-makers.

“The advocates have no mandate to move beyond an offer that has been through several layers of bureaucracy to be approved.”

Among those who made the decisions, there was no sense of urgency to address the critical shortage of midwives in health boards, she said.

“As we know from the contingency planning for life-preserving services (LPS) over the past week, health boards are operating at minimum staffing levels and in some cases, unsafe staffing levels.

“This puts midwives at risk and it puts the women and babies of New Zealand at risk. It is not acceptable.”

The flat rate pay increase on offer “not only fell short of the Consumer Price Index, but we were expected to accept a 27-month term with no backpay for the six months since the MECA (Multi-employer Collective Agreement with the 20 health boards) expired”.

“The latest offer would have been worse than the $1200 plus $1200 flat rate increases that our members already rejected, which was over two years and would have meant our members would have been $2400 better off this time next year. So of course we said ‘no'.”

Health boards spokesman and Hauora Tairawhiti chief executive Jim Green told Radio New Zealand he was disappointed the union was pushing ahead with the strikes despite the latest offer, which included a salary bump of $5800 one year after ratification and an immediate $6000 lump sum payment.

Health boards were also working to finalise a pay equity agreement which would boost midwives' income, Mr Green said.

“We find that disappointing. Instead of planning for strikes, it would be better (for the union) to be talking with their members and seeing how we can get a settlement to the dispute that we have.

“It's more important at this time to be getting in to settle this pay round, and even more importantly settle the pay equity claim which will have the lasting benefit that midwives are wanting to see around their terms and conditions of employment.”

Mr Green agreed more hospital midwives were needed and acknowledged the historic undervaluing of hospital midwives in terms of pay and working conditions

“We accept that there aren't enough midwives in the system. We need to do more to be able to make midwifery more attractive.”

MERAS has about 1500 members across the 20 health boards.

Members of MERAS and the 30,000 nurses and healthcare assistants of the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) who also work at public hospitals will strike for 12 hours on August 19.