AUCKLAND, New Zealand — Over 100 primary care workers held a lively picket here Nov. 9. It was part of a 24-hour strike and protest actions by over 3,000 nurses and administration and reception staff from family doctor offices and emergency clinics around the country.
The workers, members of the New Zealand Nurses Organization, are demanding equal pay with their counterparts in public hospitals. The union estimates primary health care nurses are paid 10% less than nurses working in hospitals, who won a significant pay raise after a series of strikes in 2018.
“We need the Government, the District Health Boards and the Ministry of Health to urgently provide extra funding” for family doctor practices to raise wages, the leaflet distributed by strikers said.
The nurses had struck for eight hours Sept. 3 and have voted to strike again Nov. 23 if their demands aren’t met.