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Member Newsletter/Pānui 27 March 2026 |
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Members from Taranaki
Base Hospital Ward 2B Paediatrics in their colourful scrubs. From left to right: Smitha James, Felicity Lane, Rose Heron, Joanna McCallum, Nissi Yohannan and Jason Burns.
Kia ora members,
Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa NZNO this week apologised for the involvement of nurses in the historical abuse of children, young people and vulnerable adults in the care of state or faith-based institutions.
In a video message published on our website, Kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku also apologised for any role nurses may have had in ignoring and not standing up to abuse that occurred from 1950-1999, as well as abuse that has occurred since 2000.
NZNO has joined calls for the swift implementation of all Royal Commissions’ recommendations and made a series of pledges. These include ensuring trauma-informed and culturally safe practices are included in nursing education and professional development, a robust redress scheme, and the protection of whistleblowers.
Seeking a finalised proposal
The Te Whatu Ora bargaining team was back around the table to fight for your claims yesterday. By my count (and it’s getting hard to keep track) it was Day 50 of negotiations.
The team reports they are now at the pointy end of bargaining and are working hard to get a finalised proposal. They want to get the best deal they can.
Their focus is firmly on gaining wins around enforceable safe staffing levels, a cost-of-living increase, raises for designated senior roles, the hiring of new graduates and a commitment to te Tiriti obligations.
A follow-up meeting is planned for Tuesday and, as always, we will report back on any progress as soon as possible.
Waitematā district nurses to strike
One group of members particularly squeezed by the crisis in primary health care and the short-staffing and under-resourcing of our hospitals are district nurses. Their workloads are snowballing and vacancies are not being filled.
To highlight these issues, district nurses in Waitematā have given notice of a 12-hour full strike on Wednesday 8 April. They will use this time to picket outside the Auckland electorate offices of local Government MPs including Health Minister Simeon Brown, Chris Penk, Mark Mitchell and Erica Stanford.
Keeping safe staffing visible
The Waitematā district nurses wrap up a two-week visibility strike on Monday. They have been wearing “Not enough nurses” T-shirts (see visibility strike photos below) to emphasis their concerns around understaffing.
They are not alone. Te Whatu Ora members throughout the country are continuing their visibility strikes which now include almost 1000 members in Taranaki, including the Base Hospital Ward 2B Paediatric team who donned colourful scrubs (see photo above), Whangārei and Waitaha Christchurch.
Cross union election year events
NZNO is now working with our sister unions on nationwide events to mark International Workers’ Day on 1 May and Labour Day on 27 October. These events will raise awareness of the importance of protecting workers’ rights which have taken a hammering under the Coalition Government.
Shows of cross union solidarity are particularly important in an election year and send a strong message to all political parties that workers’ rights were hard fought for. They are also an opportunity to remind all our friends and whānau to make sure they are enrolled to vote.
Please look out for details of the 1 May events coming to your inbox soon.
Workers’ rights under attack
The Coalition Government has been so busy attacking workers’ rights, it’s hard to keep up with the changes.
Late last month, the Employment Relations Amendment Act 2026 came into force. This new law significantly reduces remedies available for workers’ who successfully raise personal grievances, introduce ‘fire-at-will’ employment for higher earners, and make it easier for employers to flout employment law by classifying workers as contractors.
The Health and Safety at Work Amendment Bill reached the Select Committee earlier this month. This bill proposes slashing health and safety legislation, particularly for workers employed in small businesses.
The Government has also unveiled its replacement for the 2003 Holidays Act. The proposal includes taking sick leave away from part-timer workers, cutting holiday pay so it doesn’t include penal rates or allowances, cutting public holiday lieu days, and changing the law so workers who are injured at work don’t accrue annual leave.
NZNO has fought against and made submissions to Parliament on all these changes which make sober reading.
Summerset Falls members take a stand
Members at Summerset Falls in Warkworth held two short rallies on Tuesday afternoon to highlight their concerns around proposed cuts to their staffing levels and hours.
Summerset is also trying to cut weekend penal rates for newer workers and offer them pay rates below industry standards. They are also proposing cuts to specialist dementia care units, increasing health and safety risks for residents, especially at mealtimes.
The rallies were held in partnership with E tū. They were energetic and active, attracting a lot of support from passing members of the public.
Busy time in primary care
It’s all systems go in primary care with a second mediation taking place with Access and negotiations with Sexual Wellbeing Aotearoa (formerly Family Planning) underway. NZNO has also raised issues with Corrections recently over their new working groups and a proposed variation to a historic error in their collective agreement which saw health care assistants being paid less.
We’re also gearing up for the PHC MECA negotiation process. If you’re a primary care member, please make sure you read the full report below.
This is the last member newsletter before the Easter break and the start of the school holidays. I hope you all manage to have a break over this period and enjoy some time with friends and whānau.
Ngā mihi,
Paul Goulter, Chief Executive
Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa NZNO
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In this member newsletter |
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Colour adds visibility to safe staffing fight
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Members in Taranaki and Hawera, Waitākere and
Waitemata district nurses and Summerset Falls, Auckland carers voiced their frustrations in response to their concerns about staff shortages continuing to go unaddressed.
Here are some photos from past weeks below:
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Waitākere district nurses
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North Shore district nurses
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This week and last have been busy in Primary Health. We have had a second mediation with Access and managed, through some determined talks, to get an offer from them which we are taking to members. Ratification meetings take
place early next week and the vote runs almost simultaneously. There were some very positive improvements made in negotiations for these nurses. We have managed to get PDRP into the collective agreement, along with an allowance linked to it, and improved automatic progression through the salary steps. Of course, we can’t recommend members vote one way or another, only present the offer in full and ask members to decide. The offer isn’t perfect but does contain some great improvements for the lowest paid nurses in the sector and the bargaining team delegates, through their determination and solidarity have achieved some important concessions from their employer.
The first three days this week were taken up with us negotiating with Sexual Wellbeing Aotearoa (formerly Family Planning). Monday was spent travelling and preparing the delegates, then two straight days with the employer team. SWA appeared quite unprepared to negotiate on the basis that the financial manager had left a month ago. However, we felt that was a poor excuse as NZNO had initiated the bargaining process 60 previously and the collective expiry date has been known for over a year. SWA’s claims included an 18-month term (approx.) and some administrative changes. Last year we had settled for a lower than hoped-for pay increase as we had raised a pay equity claim. However, the government chose to cancel pay equity months
into the collective, so SWA members were left stranded. Expectations are high this year, especially as SWA report extremely high turnover of staff, especially amongst the lower paid groups such as administrative staff and CHPs.
We had to prompt Corrections regarding the working groups they agreed to in the last collective. This was followed by a flurry of activity in Corrections national office to kick their assigned managers to get work underway. Meanwhile we have raised a proposed variation to the CA to ensure HCAs aren’t paid lesser rates than other staff – an error left in the collective from previous years negotiations. Though we raised this over a month ago, Corrections have yet to respond. We know their decision are slow, but really.
On Monday next week we meet with the larger employer advocate representatives to discuss ideas on how to streamline the PHC MECA negotiation process.
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Aged Care National Delegates Council members met in Christchurch this week.
National Delegates Council
The Aged Care National Delegates Council met this week. The meeting focused on feedback to the Ministerial Advisory Group on Aged Care, the development of guidelines to address violence and aggression in aged care workplaces, and the strategy for progressing pay equity for aged care nurses. The Violence and Aggression Subcommittee has met and begun drafting these guidelines.
Summerset
Summerset has proposed retaining weekend allowances for current employees only, with no access to these provisions for employees hired in the future. Over time, this would result in different conditions applying across the workforce, with the number of employees covered by the current provisions reducing as staff turnover occurs. The proposal may also create incentives for the company to rely more on lower-cost employees, including when allocating additional or overtime shifts. Members are currently circulating a collective letter in response to this proposal. Once sufficient members have signed, the letter will be presented to Summerset at the next bargaining meeting. When your delegate brings the letter to your site, add your
signature.
Members at Summerset Falls in Warkworth held a lively demonstration outside their facility this week about the low staffing levels and recent proposal to reduce hours on the roster.
Oceania
Consultation is ongoing regarding change proposals at Lady Allum, Duart and Bellevue. At the same time, Oceania has advised it is divesting four sites: Elmswood, Ohinemuri, Whitianga and Te Mana. Further information about these sales is still to come. Organisers are working to ensure that members are represented and supported throughout these changes.
Age Safe Training/Sector Advocacy
Aged care delegates from Hamilton, Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland met to discuss the funding model for the aged care sector and what needs to change. The discussion focused on the 10 recommendations set out in Care in Crisis | Manaaki i te Raru and planning next steps, including meeting with Ministers of Parliament. The aim is to secure legislative change that establishes minimum staffing levels across the sector.
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Pay equity in the non-Te Whatu Ora sector
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Pay Equity Update: Scale of Change, Pressure for Progress
Pay equity is quickly becoming a defining issue in this election year, as the impact of pay gaps is felt more sharply in the current economic climate.
Recent reporting has made the scale of what changed in 2025 clearer, an RNZ investigation shows that a 45-minute ministerial meeting resulted in the removal of pay equity claims affecting tens of thousands of women:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/top/590100/how-a-crucial-45-minute-meeting-between-ministers-took-pay-equity-claims-away-from-tens-of-thousands-of-women
This gives a sense of how quickly things shifted and the scale of the injustice.
At the same time, pressure on the system is increasing. The Human Rights Commission, alongside unions including NZNO, is now actively scrutinising whether the current law meets basic rights obligations:
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/pay-equity-overhaul-govt-minister-surprised-by-rights-watchdog-pushback/EB4PHZP345CQRBVI3XJWUBZA4I/
This is coordinated work. The claims NZNO has raised across hospice, Plunket and other sectors are part of that wider push, helping test how the system operates in practice and building a clearer picture of where it is limiting progress.
Alongside this, claim progression continues.
We are currently waiting for Te Whatu Ora to provide further information on comparators. This is a key step that will help determine how far claims can move forward, with comparator access remaining one of the main constraints in the amended framework.
In this environment, the focus is on making progress where we can, while continuing to build pressure for change. There will be further actions and additional claims as we continue to push for Pay Equity Now.
We will keep members updated as this work progresses.
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Private hospitals and hospice sector
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Sector-wide
National Delegates Committee (NDC)
The National Delegate Committee election process for the central region has now concluded. There has been a tie for one position. Under our rules, this will now be determined by lot. We will confirm the outcome of the ballot next week and announce the new National Delegate Committee.
Hospice
Hospice MECA (Rotorua, Taupō, Eastern Bay of Plenty, Marlborough)
We attended negotiations on 23 March. We are working through the employer’s offer and confirming wording with the employers before holding members' meetings.
Four Hospice MECA (Waikato, Waipuna, Mary Potter, Harbour Hospice)
We will attend mediation on 30 March. Our aim is to bring back an offer for members to consider in the coming weeks.
Whanganui Hospice
Negotiations are taking place today (27 March).
Hospice Southland
We are working through the employer’s offer and expect to report back to members in the coming weeks.
North Haven Hospice
We are preparing for negotiations.
Mercy Hospice
We are preparing for negotiations.
Community hospitals
Balclutha & Dunstan
We continue to work through issues with the employer’s offer.
Maniototo
We are preparing for negotiations.
Private & NGO hospitals
ABI / Evolve Rehab
Member meetings will be held over the coming weeks to discuss progress. Bargaining is likely to resume in mid-April.
Allevia
We are working with the employer to review CSSD pay rates following the PSA Te Whatu Ora CSSD settlement (which includes two new pay steps).
Allevia Kensington
We are considering options around an offer from the Employer and hope to report back to members soon.
Braemar
Members have rejected the employer’s offer and have provided clear direction on priorities. Delegates are meeting next Tuesday 31 March to discuss next steps and we hope to be back in negotiations in April.
Evolution
The union and employer have discussed a plan to complete our two working groups before bargaining resumes.
Grace
The agreement has been ratified. Preparation for the next round of bargaining will begin shortly.
St George’s
Preparations are underway to begin bargaining.
Mercy (Dunedin)
An offer has been received and is under review. Ratification meetings are expected soon.
Private Health
New Zealand Clinical Research (NZCR)
The employer has agreed to provide IEA rates to union members. However:
- These have not been backdated, and
- There is no commitment to apply the 1 April pay increases
This remains an issue.
Member meetings:
- Auckland: Thursday 2 April, 2pm – Rangitoto Room
- Christchurch: Thursday 2 April, 2pm – Wynne Room
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Still minding the gap invoices wrapping up soon
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Earlier this month, STILL Minding the Gap launched a campaign encouraging New Zealanders to send invoices directly to PM for the money women are losing each week due to the Government's failure to
mandate gender pay gap reporting.
The end of the financial year is almost here, which means it’s time to wrap things up and get those invoices to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon into his inbox Don’t leave it until the last minute. Even if you have invoiced already, you can Invoice AGAIN - a new week - a new invoice!
The campaign allows people to generate automatic invoices through the STILL Minding the Gap website that quantify the financial cost to women of Government inaction on the gender pay gap.
Send your final demand for money owed to the women of New Zealand here.
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Our leaders speak: President Anne Daniels – True grit
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Reading the Sunday Star Times (22.3.2026) caused me to observe the devolution of much of what is meaningful to our collective society. The health and wellbeing of our nation is, indeed, under continuous attack through deliberate dismantling of legislation, infrastructure, policy and procedure that should lift us up equitably. Instead, George Orwell’s “1984” reminds us of the mechanisms of power that compromise our right to live healthy lives in a society that is being systematically dismantled by a Coalition Government without us, ignoring the checks and balances of due process.
Imagine if we as nurses ignored due process during medication administration or any procedure that we conduct. Doing so would increase the likelihood of avoidable harm to our patients and their families. Yet this is exactly what the Coalition Government is doing. Some examples are outline below from the Sunday Star Times.
Media articles covered the Government’s decision to partner with a vape firm that has taken it to court five times in a bid to keep nicotine limits high in vaping products. The company has been awarded a “vape to quit smoking programme” by Te Whatu Ora. How does that work when 50,000 of us have died since 2010 with smoking related causes? This is the same government that stopped the increasingly successful Smoke Free campaign under urgency without any public consultation.
A “Five days of fuel” article looked at pressure at the pump that highlighted the stressors a large majority of people are trying to cope with. As one person said – its one thing after another – food, fuel, roadworks, (housing, jobs, education) whatever Trump is doing that drags everyone else in the world into. The impact on those who are unemployed, or in low wage jobs such as community support workers who rely on their cars for work is reaching breaking point. To add insult to injury Foodstuffs CEO said that the fuel costs will impact on supermarket prices. Little is being done by the government to reduce the financial and health impact on workers, their families and those in the community they care for. The ripples of
suffering from the lack of decisive and meaningful government leadership to help rather than hinder the people of this nation, continue.
The shadow of Trump is getting longer. Another Sunday Star Times article explores “Demonising Migrants”. Proposed amendments to the 2009 Immigration Act by Erica Stanford are being challenged as they will give immigration officers more powers to stop, question and detain people suspected of overstaying if they are not carrying identification. The changes may lead to fear in targeted communities. Whatever this Is, it will exacerbate fear, racism and division. The Coalition Government has been called out on being ‘The most overtly
racist government in decades’ | E-Tangata as the changes to legislation, policy and funding negatively impacts on the rights and outcomes of Māori. This includes overt opposition to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The psychosocial stressors of our current context, on those with little power, control or choice is escalating in parallel with all the constant attacks on legislation that is supposed to support us, protect us, and uplift us. Proposed changes to the Health and Safety in Employments Act which will see psychosocial stressors removed from identified critical risks. Nurses and many other women workers face under recognised risks in the workplace such as psychosocial harm, gendered violence and harassment, and musculoskeletal risks. The Bill’s “critical risk” framework, including regressive critical risk definition, and fails to recognise the impact of these risks. The proposed prioritisation framework is built around the traditional,
male-dominated industrial hazard profile that has long dominated health and safety practice, as though women don’t warrant the same protections given to men. It is short-sighted, unethical and discriminatory to reduce the system's capacity to address these risks. Moreover, the short submission period has compounded the (deliberately) inadequate and narrowly targeted consultation processes. All of which impacts on workers rights to safe and decent work.
Yet I know that we the people can stand up and fight back. One such individual is Enrolled Nurse Leonie Metcalfe. Her life and works were celebrated at her well attended funeral on Saturday. Her life is an example of what nurses have done and continue to do to reverse and improve legislation that impacts on us as a profession and as human beings. Her relentless commitment to doing what was right was recognised in 2021 when she received the NZNO Award of Honour as an invaluable Enrolled Nurse leader. I know that there are many more of our NZNO members, just like her. No matter what is in front of us, we will stand up and fight back. And we WILL WIN.
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Board Kōrero – Kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku
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The National Executive met on Tuesday 24 February, followed by the Joint Meeting with Te Poari on Wednesday 15 February – both in Tāmaki Makaurau. Te Poari then met in the Tāmaki office on Thursday 26 February. Owing to the impending global threat of fascism and i’s impact on Aotearoa New Zealand, the tone and theme of the kōrero was robust with plenty of actions for the Governance Members to consider.
The National Executive met with Rob Campbell who is the chair of Kaitaiaki Hauora, which aims to act as a credible critique of the Government’s management of health in New Zealand. Other health unions are involved in Kaitiaki Hauora, and the National Executive agreed to fund support for this group. The National Executive received many operational updates and met with Member leaders in the final session of the day.
Items of note included:
Governance Deep Dives:
Governance Members were asked to workshop ‘what professional success looks like” at NZNO. Themes that arose from the Boards including ways to actualise Te Tiriti o Waitangi throughout the membership, streamlining industrial engagement with the organisation, and finding ways for the National Executive and Te Poari to work differently. The same question is being workshopped at the March College & Section Forum.
Local organising Groups (LOGs) and Local Organising Committees (LOCs)
The Constitutional Review Panel has completed its scope of work and the next phase of this project has been the establishment of the LOGs by the LOCs. There has been rigorous and extensive dialogue surrounding the positions of the boundaries and the number of LOGS per region.
It was agreed to hold a follow up Joint Meeting to confirm the boundaries for the outstanding regions following input from the Director of Organising and the regions affected.
NZNO Apology for Abuse in State Care:
A video and letter of apology has been completed and will be sent to NZNO stakeholders and partners before it is published to Members and the public. This gives stakeholders such as our Survivor advocates time to ingest and reflect on the content and circulate it to Survivor networks.
We are indebted to Keith Wiffen, Survivor and Survivor advocate, and Aaron Smales, Journalist and Survivor advocate, for their ongoing support.
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Save the date: NZNO Medico-legal forums
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Save the Date! NZNO is holding Medico-Legal Forums in July under the theme Navigating risk and complexity in contemporary nursing practice.
The forums will be held in Christchurch and Auckland with a third option to attend online for those who are unable to attend in person.
Dates:
Christchurch: Tuesday 21 July 2026
Auckland: Wednesday 29 July 2026
Streaming option: Wednesday 29 July 2026
Registrations will initially be for NZNO members only, costing $160 for in-person attendance and $120 for online option.
This is a great opportunity to hear from expert speakers, including NZNO Medico-legal lawyers, the Health and Disability Commissioner, Nursing Council of New Zealand and others.
See the programme
here
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Nursing Regulation Snapshot: HPCA Act 2003, Section 34
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Section 34 of the HPCA Act 2003 relates to notification that practice is below the required standard of competence. This section outlines when nurses must be notified to the Nursing council for competency issues.
Here is what you need to know:
This means that if you resign or are dismissed from your employment while there are any concerns about your clinical practice your employer is obliged to notify you to the Nursing Council. Once you are notified the nursing council follows the process outlined in the Act to determine if you are currently competent to practice.
What you should do if your employer is saying there are issues with your clinical practice:
Contact NZNO for professional nursing support particularly if you are asked to go on a performance improvement plan.
Contact NZNO for professional and industrial support if you are having issues related to clinical practice that may affect your employment.
Contact NZNO for professional and industrial advice before making any decision to resign.
Reference:
Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003. https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2003/48/en/latest/#DLM203312
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NZNO in the news
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District health target figures improve
ODT, 27 March 2026
NZNO apologises for abuses in state care
Newstalk ZB/NZNO, 24 March 2026
Heading to Wellington Hospital’s ED? There’s about a 50% chance you’ll be waiting over six hours
Stuff, 25 March 2026
ACT should leave nursing to professionals and medical evidence
NZNO, 23 March 2026
Taranaki nurses on ‘visibility strike’ to raise awareness about their contract dispute
The Post/Taranaki Daily News, 20 March 2026
Taupō Hospital labelled ‘poor neighbour’ to Rotorua Hospital as nurse calls for support staff
Rotorua Daily Post, 19 March 2026
How a crucial 45-minute meeting between ministers took pay equity claims away from tens of thousands of women
RNZ, 20 March 2026
More hospital staff and extra beds a ‘drop in the ocean’ ahead of winter ills
The Press/Waikato Times/The Post, 17 March 2026
New health funding for winter a drop in the bucket - unions
RNZ, 17 March 2026
General practice uptake of new-grad nurses plateaus rather than doubles
NZ Doctor, 16 March 2026
A healthy obsession
Taupō and Tūrangi News,
Hospital recruits security
King Country News, 14 March 2026
Read more here
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Kaitiaki Hauora newsletter launched
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Kaitiaki Haura continues its fight against rising cost of living and for better health delivery by recently launching its first newsletter.
Members of the executive of Kaitaiki Hauora are very willing and keen to speak at union meetings as opportunities arise. This might range from executive meetings and staff meetings to delegate and membership meetings. We are looking for as much support as we can get to promote adequate funding of our public health system, oppose further privatisation and to honour Te Tiriti in health.
This campaign is part of an election campaign to elect a government this year which will not only commit to an adequately funded public health system but also restore the full range of workers' rights including pay equity.
Find out more here
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Grow yourself professionally by joining NZNO's colleges and sections
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Colleges and sections are central to NZNO’s success and influence and brings together groups of members who are focused on a specific nursing specialty.
So far only less than 20% of members have elected to join a college or section, and we'd like to see you grow that number. NZNO colleges and sections can help you advance your practice through policy and professional development opportunities, and membership at most colleges and sections is open and free to NZNO members.
There’s bound to be one for every member as there are 20 colleges and sections across a range of specialty areas and members can choose to belong to as many as three. Individual membership choices are usually related to clinical specialty and/or study and research interests.
Check out our colleges and sections here. Which one(s) will you join?
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2026 College of Respiratory Nurses Symposium
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Neonatal Nurses College Aotearoa Symposium 2026
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Dates: 7 - 8 May 2026
Venue: Copthorne, Waitangi
The Journey | Te Haerenga
Join us as we explore the journey in neonatal care; celebrating the paths of pēpi, whānau, nurses and neonatology.
- Abstract submission closes at 5pm on Friday 13 March 2026
- Registration closes on Sunday 19 April 2026
More information is available on the website.
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Brooke van Velden resignation is a chance for U-turn
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NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Sandra Grey is calling on the Government to pause harmful employment legislation in light of Brooke van Velden’s resignation.
“Brooke van Velden’s legacy as Workplace Relations and Safety Minister is one of the worst in this country’s history. Much of the legislation passed on her watch has wrecked the longstanding landscape of employment relations in New Zealand.
“Stealing pay equity overnight from more than 300,000 workers in low-paid, female-dominated sectors. Delivering real term pay cuts for workers on the minimum wage for three years running. Letting multinational corporate lobbyists dictate our contractor law. These decisions demonstrate van Velden’s priorities as Minister.
“The Minister has two bills before the House that continue her track record of trampling on workers’ rights. In light of the Member’s resignation, we are calling on the Government to halt any further progress on the Employment Leave Act and the Health and Safety at Work Amendment Bill, and to work with unions on real, long-term solutions to the issues these Bills raise.
“The Government now has an opportunity to do right by working people. The next Minister for Workplace Relations should be one who truly understands the struggle of workers in a cost-of-living crisis, and who listens to working people and their unions,” said Grey.
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ICN: Violence against nurses is a gendered crisis threatening global health
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The International Council of Nurses (ICN) has warned that violence against nurses is a global gendered crisis that threatens health systems, patient safety and workforce sustainability.
Speaking at a United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) parallel session, ICN President Dr José Luis Cobos Serrano called for urgent action to address workplace violence affecting nurses and other women-dominated professions.
The ICN session, co-hosted with Sigma Theta Tau International and SONSIEL, brought together global experts to examine the scale, causes and solutions to violence in health care workplaces.
Dr Cobos Serrano highlighted that nursing is overwhelmingly female, with women making up 85% of the workforce, and said its historic classification as “women’s work” has contributed to persistent undervaluation, lower pay and limited leadership opportunities.
Read more
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Together – a night of music and solidarity
A historic benefit concert bringing together leading Aotearoa musicians in tribute to Helen Kelly and Peter Conway – two comrades who dedicated their lives to fighting for workers' rights.
All proceeds will go directly to UnionAID's union development projects in the SE Asia-Pacific region, backing workers organising for their rights.
The line-up features: Tiny Ruins, Don McGlashan, The Muttonbirds, SJD, Luke Buda (Phoenix Foundation), Sofia Machray, David Long, Ross Burge, and The E tū Orchestral Musicians.
Event details:
- When: Sunday 3 May 2026, 7.30pm
- Where: Meow Nui, Wellington
Tickets:
- General Admission: $58.50
- Platinum Lounge: $98.50 - elevated balcony views with guaranteed seating and a private bar. Numbers are strictly limited.
For tickets click here: Together Concert tickets | Meow Nui | Ticketek New Zealand
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