Press Release – MERAS
Hospital midwives who are members of the Midwifery Employee Representation and Advisory Services (MERAS) are voting over the next two weeks on an offer from the 20 DHBs, to settle their Multi-Employer Collective Agreement (MECA).
Should hospital midwives vote to reject the offer, the ballot also includes a vote on a series of rolling strikes, starting in Northland and the three Auckland DHBs in the North and Southern DHB in the South from 9-12 August with another day of industrial action if the negotiations remain unresolved.
Industrial Co-leader, Jill Ovens, says while there have been some significant gains in the offer, the proposed pay increase has not changed and there is no offer related to backpay despite lengthy delays caused by the DHBs and their multi-layered approval process.