New Zealand nurses expected to give thumbs-up to new pay offer from the nation's DHBs

Nurses at Hawke's Bay Hospital in Hastings take part in the nationwide 24-hour strike on Thursday, July 12. Photo/Paul Taylor

New Zealand's nurses are expected to accept a new pay deal and end a months-long industrial action.

New Zealand Nurses' Organisation members are set to today receive details about the pay offer by the country's district health boards, with the union recommending they accept the offer.

NZNO associate industrial services manager Glenda Alexander says the fifth offer made by the DHBs included a greater commitment than past offers to speedily employ more staff at hospitals.

"We are recommending the offer because it retains previously achieved benefits and addresses the ongoing member priorities of greater need for clarity and commitment to safe staffing and also the issue of equity and fairness," she said.

The possible end to the industrial dispute follows a nationwide strike on July 12 in which more than 8000 nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants walked off the job for 24 hours.

DHB spokesman Jim Green said his team had been pushed hard during negotiations by the NZNO on behalf of its member nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants.

A key improvement in the latest DHBs offer was to more speedily increase staff numbers and to bring in a new top "salary step" for registered nurses and midwives, he said.

"The offer contains $38 million that DHBs will use to start recruiting additional staff immediately, and they'll work with NZNO locally on the areas where staff are most urgently needed," he said.

"As well as reporting regularly to the Ministry, which will monitor progress, DHBs have agreed a process for providing reports to NZNO members.

"DHBs also conceded the argument to bring forward the new RN7 top step so it will be within the new agreement and consistent with the pay scale for registered nurses and midwives."

If accepted, the new pay deal would be backdated to apply from last month.

Health Minister Dr David Clark congratulated nurses and DHBs for finding common ground.

"These negotiations have been long and testing. I am pleased both parties have reached an agreement on an offer to put to NZNO members," he said.

The latest offer builds on a previous package that had been worth $500 million, would have seen all nurses receive a pay rise of at least 9.5 per cent in the next year, and included a promise of more senior staff.