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Nelson Medical and Injury centre members
Another busy fortnight across the motu, as members get organised to push for change at work and across the sector. Here are some highlights:
PHC MECA
Members in Primary Health MECA workplaces have been organising to show support for their claims and for their bargaining team (see photo above). If you’re part of the MECA and haven’t taken a photo with your colleagues yet, you can! Take a photo together and share with your organiser (or get in touch if you need a hand)
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CHT Bargaining
NZNO and E tū delegates capably represented their workmates in negotiations with CHT management last week as they fought to improve their collective agreement (see photo above). The proposed deal would mean RNs working at CHT are paid base rates above Health NZ. If you work at CHT – keep an look out for your meeting time, and remember to encourage all of your colleagues to join the union too! |
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Murihiku Local Organising Group
This week 26 members from the Murihiku LOG got together for the day to discuss the political challenges members across the sector are facing, and how their LOG can get active locally to make a difference (see photo above). To get active in your Local Organising Group, contact your local organiser or the NZNO member support centre for more info. |
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Te Whatu Ora |
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Te Whatu Ora collective agreement implementation
This week some members received their lump sum payment from bargaining, with all Districts due to complete lump sum payments by the end of July. As previously mentioned, Te Whatu Ora took steps to speed up the payment timeframe after NZNO raised concerns about potential delays. Below is the full payment timetable.
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15 minute police handover for ED Mental Health patients
In June NZNO delegates and members of the NZNO Mental Health Section provided feedback to Te Whatu Ora about the implementation of a 15 minute police handover. There was near-unanimous opposition to the 15-minute standard Police response as currently conceived.
The core objections are structural — insufficient staffing, inadequate environments, and a model that assumes resources and capabilities that do not exist, especially in rural settings. The qualitative data suggests the policy has been experienced as imposed without adequate consultation with frontline services or resourcing to support it. This week Te Whatu Ora acknowledged members feedback and stated that this will be reflected in advice to joint Ministers next week.
Te Manawa Taki proposal to restructure
Following feed from NZNO and other health unions, Te Whatu Ora this week decided not to progress the proposal in its current form and is in the process of communicating directly with affected members.
They have said that over the coming months they will work with clinicians, leaders, staff, and unions to further develop the future leadership model. NZNO is currently gathering members views on the proposal document and what is required in a new proposal. If you have issues you want to see raised please email Candice.Smith@nzno.org.nz
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PHC MECA bargaining
We presented the draft PHC MECA, with members claims to employers on 3 June. The only response so far: a request to take the draft off our website, no second bargaining date offered, and no feedback on the claims themselves.
NZNO isn't budging on unpaid delegates, effective pay rates, or claw backs. We're standing firm alongside our Primary Health Care members. |
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We've been out visiting sites, and members are showing strong support for a proposed collective agreement built on what you asked for pay parity and better conditions. If you're covered by the PHC MECA, join our Facebook group to stay in the loop.
Plunket and Sexual Wellbeing Aotearoa
We are also currently in bargaining with Plunket and Sexual Wellbeing Aotearoa, and we will have further updates in our next newsletter.
NZ Blood Service
Voting has closed on the ratification vote for NZBS's offer members have voted to accept. We've notified NZBS and will now check and sign the new CA. (See photos of the bargaining team below.)
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Pay equity in the funded sector |
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A recent NZ Herald report, “Govt could face pay equity funding hole of its own if nurses win claims,” has highlighted a problem the Government has so far avoided confronting publicly: if NZNO's pay equity claims for Plunket, Hospice and aged care nurses succeed, the Crown could face a significant funding obligation that has not been budgeted for. |
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It is exactly what these claims are designed to expose.
Nurses covered by these claims deliver essential health services that New Zealanders rely on every day. Plunket nurses support tamariki and whānau, Hospice nurses provide specialist palliative and end-of-life care, and aged care nurses care for some of our most vulnerable people. These services are not optional; they are critical to the functioning of our health system and the wellbeing of our communities.
The challenge is that these providers are heavily dependent on government funding, without additional Crown funding, they will face growing financial pressure, creating risks for service delivery, staffing and access to care.
This exposes a fundamental flaw in the Government's approach to pay equity; existing claims may have been stopped and projected savings counted, but the underlying gender-based undervaluation of nursing work has not disappeared.
The work remains essential; the workforce remains predominantly female, and the case for pay equity remains as strong as ever.
The Government faces a choice. It can properly fund settlements that recognise the value of this work, or it can leave providers to carry the cost. Either way, the funding responsibility does not disappear. NZNO has consistently argued that pay equity settlements without adequate government funding are not genuine settlements. They simply shift costs from the Crown to employers, workers and the communities that depend on these essential services. That is neither fair nor sustainable.
With the election now just four months away, this issue is becoming increasingly difficult for politicians to ignore. These claims are about more than pay, they are a test of whether the Government is prepared to properly recognise, value and fund the essential nursing services it relies on every day. |
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Summerset
The ballot on the proposed Collective Agreement settlement has now closed, and the combined unions have voted against accepting the offer. Your bargaining team respects the outcome of the ballot and the message members have sent.
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We are heading back to bargaining on 16 July and will be taking with us your strong combined union voice that the offer is not yet good enough. We appreciate the strong engagement members have shown throughout this process. The ballot result provides a clear combined union mandate, and we will be taking your concerns back to the employer.
Bupa
We held bargaining on 30 June and 1 July, having shared our claims on 22 June. After two long days of discussions, we now have an offer from the employer. We are currently finalising a Terms of Settlement and updated Collective Agreement. Once that is complete, we will be holding onsite ratification meetings. Please come along and have your say. Now is a good time to join the union, so if you have workmates who are considering joining, please encourage them to attend the meetings.
Oceania
Oceania has undertaken change proposals at a number of sites this year, including Elderslea, Elmswood, Lady Allum, Parklands, Bellevue, and Duart. Lady Allum is currently piloting a review process for these changes. Eden has received a change proposal this week, and we are working with members to prepare feedback.
Heritage
Claims meetings are now taking place at Heritage sites. Your organiser will be in touch to arrange claims meetings at your site. These meetings are your opportunity to have your say on what you want to see improved at work. Please come along, bring your colleagues, and consider becoming more involved as a delegate. Claims should be completed by 17 July.
We will be bargaining on:
- 20 July for WPA negotiations
- 21 and 22 July for Collective Agreement negotiations
Metlifecare
Claims meetings are now taking place at Metlifecare sites. Your organiser will be arranging meetings at your site soon. We are keen to see more members involved in bargaining, so please attend a meeting and bring your colleagues along. We are also looking to develop new leaders and delegates across our Metlifecare sites. If you are interested in representing members at your facility, please let your organiser know. Bargaining dates are yet to be confirmed.
Radius
Claims meetings are now taking place at Radius sites. Please complete your claims by 31 July. Bargaining dates are yet to be confirmed. We are due to initiate bargaining with Radius next week.
Aged Safe Lobbying Visits
Aged care delegates are currently visiting MPs to discuss low staffing levels in aged care facilities and the impact this has on both workers and residents in rest homes across their electorates. |
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Private Hospitals and Hospice Sector |
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HOSPICE
Hospice MECA (Rotorua, Taupō, Eastern Bay of Plenty, Marlborough)
We returned to negotiations on July 3 and will update members on the outcome soon.
PRIVATE & NGO HOSPITALS
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ABI / Evolve Rehab
We are still waiting for some of the offer wording to be finalised before holding members' meetings.
Braemar
We are returning to negotiations on July 6 and will update members shortly afterwards.
Evolution
We will be negotiating early in September.
Grace
We are working through the employer's offer so we can run meetings to discuss the outcome. APEX TSU staff have rejected their offer and may even consider strike action. We will need to support them if they do.
St George’s
Please check your email for a link to vote on the employer’s offer by noon on Friday, 10 July.
PRIVATE HEALTH
New Zealand Clinical Research (NZCR)
We attended mediation. The union will work through the employer's proposed new collective agreement to see what changes are acceptable. The key issues remain force majeure, 90 day trial period, and reductions of existing terms.
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Our leaders speak: Kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku -HPCAA Bill attacks workforce independence |
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The Coalition Government has shown repeatedly it’s no defender of workers’ rights and its latest proposed changes are a blatant attack on the regulation of our traditionally independent workforce.
Introduced to Parliament in May, the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Amendment (HPCAA) Bill will fundamentally change the regulation of nursing and could have a profoundly negative impact on our already troubled health system.
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In fact, the example of the car accident demonstrates the multiplication of roles that are eroding the role of the Nurse Practitioner, Registered and Enrolled nurses.
The Nursing Council has over a century of working to regulate the nursing workforce in Aotearoa, ensuring that nurses are competent and fit to practice. We were the first country in the world to legally require nurses to be registered – that’s something we can be proud of.
But the Minister of Health, Simoen Brown isn’t waiting for his legislation to be passed. He is already stepping into the regulation of nursing by gutting the Nursing Council. Since last September he has reduced the number of nurses on the board from seven to four.
That was despite the chair and three board members wanting to stay on. Two members did not seek re-appointment, and we are aware that two internationally qualified nurses have resigned in protest.
Simeon Brown's constant claim that he wants to put patients first rings hollow. He has made no attempts to ensure patient needs are the focus of a nurse-strong Council board.
This is a concerning overreach of ministerial powers, before the changes have even been debated in Parliament, let alone adopted. But anyone who noticed the Minister’s blatant politicking through cherrypicked fake scenarios in the 2025 Ministry of Health consultation document ahead of the legislation being drafted will not be surprised.
The Bill would also give the Minister new powers to direct regulators to carry out Government policy. This is a shift from the traditionally independent model of health workforce regulation we’ve had in Aotearoa. It would allow a health minister to create new scopes of practice and registration processes.
The Bill would also establish a Health Practitioners’ Review Committee – with panel experts appointed by the Minister of Health, which will have the power to review and overturn decisions by workforce regulators including the Nursing Council.
The changes would also remove explicit reference to Māori cultural competence from the authorities’ functions. Simeon Brown has dismissed kawa whakaruruhau (Māori cultural safety) as political ideology but the groundbreaking work of Irihapeti Ramsden demonstrated how it can remove the barriers to access and lead to better health outcomes.
There is little evidence of a problem needing to be solved here. The removal of references to Māori culture from the cultural competency requirements is a continuation of this Collation Government’s ongoing mission to delete Te Tiriti o Waitangi references from all our laws. Cultural safety is not only about Māori, yet the label is weaponised against Māori and a dog whistle designed to whip up racism.
The HPCAA Bill should be focused on fixing the crisis in the health system and reducing the pressure on an overburdened workforce. It is this proposed new law, not the health regulators – which is unbridled politics.
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NZNO Medico-legal forums registration open |
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Registrations are now open for the NZNO 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.
Venues and dates:
Christchurch: Tuesday 21 July 2026
Links Function and Events Centre, Christchurch Golf Club, 45 Horseshoe Lake Road, Shirley, Christchurch
Auckland: Wednesday 29 July 2026
Sorrento in the Park, 679 Manukau Road, Royal Oak (Located in Cornwall Park).
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
Link to registrations |
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NZNO in the news |
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Wellington delegate Tweena Samuel speaks to the media at the May Day rally. |
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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 19 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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Infection, Prevention & Control Nurses College |
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Fight for worker health and safety not over says NZCTU |
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Workers are disappointed by the passing of the Health and Safety at Work Amendment Bill, but an opportunity has arisen to minimise its damage, says Melissa Ansell-Bridges, Secretary of the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi. |
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This law change stands to have a significant impact on the lives of working people. It is very disappointing to see the Government choosing to make life even harder for workers who are already doing it tough at the moment. Workers shouldn’t be having to worry that their workplace protections are being eroded just because of the size of the business they work for, or because some MPs don’t consider threats to their health as ‘critical’.
These changes are out of touch with the reality of work says Ansell-Bridges.
“Risks that workers face every day in the workplace – such as violence and aggression, stress and fatigue, and musculoskeletal injuries – have been deprioritised.
“However, the actions of trade unions and working people to fight back against this law change has given us a window of opportunity to limit the damage it can do.
“Our petition, co-sponsored by Stand with Pike campaigners Sonya Rockhouse and Anna Osborne, calling on MPs to vote against this law, gathered over 12,000 signatures in a fortnight. It was this pressure that has seen the commencement date of this law moved past the election to April 2027.
The CTU will now turn our efforts to ensuring that this law does not come into effect.
“We will be pushing the new Government elected in November to repeal this law before it can do harm to workers,” says Ansell-Bridges. |
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2026 CSSANZ Nurses Awards
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These awards recognise the outstanding contribution of nurses to the colorectal specialty and include two award categories:
- Publications and Educational Materials
- Professional Excellence
Each award recipient will receive support towards continuing professional development, including attendance support for the CSSANZ Colorectal Spring Meeting 2026 (conditions apply).
I have attached a promotional graphic and would be very grateful if you could circulate it to eligible nurses and relevant professional networks.
Further information, including eligibility criteria and application details, is available here.
Applications close 1 August 2026. |
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Petition for a public enquiry into FENZ
The NZPFU is calling for an independent inquiry into FENZ to examine why FENZ has failed to manage funding to ensure that it has the capacity and capability for reliable emergency response to the New Zealand public. |
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Please sign this petition to support the call for a public inquiry into whether FENZ has been properly using its funding to ensure that it has the staffing and resources necessary to keep the New Zealand public safe.
Sign the petition here |
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