The colour purple is flying high in Liverpool St, while the air is filled with the sound of car horns, tooting in support of local nurses who are fighting for a fairer pay deal.
Leanne Larmer, union delegate for the NZ Nurses Organisation, said they are trying to get themessage across to their District Health Board employers that they have had enough of being understaffed and poorly paid.
After a public sector pay freeze was announced by the Government in May this year, with restrictions preventing pay rises for those who earn more than $100,000 per year, and limiting pay rises for people earning between $60,000 and $100,000 the DHB nurses have been offered a 1.3 per cent pay increase.
Leanne Larmer, NZNO union organiser, leading the Horowhenua Community Practice nurses out to Liverpool Street to start their strike action.
Larmer said, while there had been mention of demanding a 17 per cent pay rise, she believes the DHB and nurses need to meet somewhere in the middle and be aiming for something similar to what teachers received in 2019.
That year, after a hard-fought battle that included strikes, primary school teachers achieved an average pay increase of 12.5 per cent.
One of the big issues for the Levin-based DHB nurses is that they always seem to be understaffed.
"Our FTE (full time equivalent) nurses don't match the patient ratios we have...a lot of our nurses work double shifts or extra hours or pick up extra days on their days off," said Larmer.
Horowhenua Community Practice nurses staging strike action on Liverpool Street.
One of the many reasons the union is fighting for better wages is to try and retain qualified nurses in New Zealand.
Horowhenua Community Practice get a lot of young trainee nurses from UCOL doing their practical placements, who then move further afield searching for better pay and work conditions, with most of them heading overseas.
Which is particularly concerning in the Horowhenua because, as Larmer pointed out, the majority of the nursing staff on strike today are in the 50 plus age bracket. "Our nurses today are doing this for the nurses of the future," said Larmer.
A couple of the mental health nurses on strike worked late yesterday and made contact with all their clients to make sure none were impacted by today's event.
Leanne Larmer, NZNO union organiser, handing out banners and placards to striking nurses.
"We're doing this for all public service workers," one of them said, "especially those who can't go on strike for fairer conditions, like the police."
The ward staff said it was hard to strike, to walk away from their patients, but they jammed eight hours work into four hours, before heading out at 11am. And the afternoon shift will be doing the same when the protest finishes.
Larmer said three union members had stayed behind to help on the wards with one of the morning shift protesters and two of the afternoon shift protesters on call to ensure there is "life preserving" facilities available for patients.
In amongst the nurses waving purple flags and placards there are also other staff and patients who are supporting their cause.
Patients and other staff of the Horowhenua Community Practice joining nurses on the picket line.
One of the hospital cooks said he loves their nurses and wanted to help them fight for better pay and conditions.
The group also had strong support from recently retired NZNO union organiser Lyn Olsthoorn, who spent 30 years "fighting the good fight" for New Zealand nurses.
"I really can't resist a good protest," Olsthoorn said. She also commented how great it was that nurses are now no longer afraid to be seen and will make their fight for fairness public.
The Horowhenua Community Practice in-patient, mental health and district health nurses went on strike at 11am today and will not return to work until 7pm
