About 30,000 nurses, healthcare
assistants and midwives in public hospitals around New
Zealand voted earlier this month to hold another three
nationwide strikes. The members of the New Zealand Nurses
Organisation (NZNO) held an eight-hour strike on June 9
after rejecting a derisory pay rise offer of just 1.38
percent. The District Health Boards’ offer was effectively
a pay cut relative to inflation and contained nothing to
address the staffing crisis in hospitals.
The Labour
Party-led government announced a wage freeze in May for the
next three years for the vast majority of public sector
employees, including healthcare workers and teachers. The
government is imposing severe austerity measures to make