Campaigning for pay parity in primary care: NZNO is gearing up for the next step in its Fair Pay Campaign--a multi-employer collective agreement covering more than 1000 worksites and thousands of members in primary health care.

With district health board (DHB) nurses and midwives now receiving the benefits of the fair pay settlement, NZNO is turning its attention to winning pay parity for primary health care (PHC) nurses.

NZNO's Pay Parity for Primary Health Campaign was Launched earlier this month. One of its aims is a multi-employer collective agreement (MECA) covering nurses working in general practices, independent practice associations, primary health organisations, union health centres, iwi and Maori health providers, accident and medical centres, Pacific health centres and youth health providers. It will also cover medical receptionists and other occupational groups in those worksites where there are NZNO members. "Those who will be covered will be those delivering primary health care with DHB funding," NZNO industrial adviser Cee Payne-Harker said. It excludes nurses working for Plunket, the family Planning Association (FPA) and the New Zealand Blood Service, whose current national collective agreements with be renegotiated this year. More than 1000 workplaces will be involved in the MECA, with a potential NZNO membership of between 3500 and 4000. While acknowledging the enormity of the task, Payne-Harker is confident member activism will build during the campaign and that PHC nurses wil realise their collective strength through the process.

The case for pay parity in the sector has already been established through NZNO's Backgrounder on Nurse/Midwife Pay, (1) originally published in March 2003. This research paper made the case for pay equity measures and was the basis of the Fair Pay Campaign for DHB nurses and midwives. The arguments made in the backgrounder applied equally to nurses employed in the PHC sector, Payne-Harker said. The DHB MEEA will provide the benchmark for PHC MEEA pay rates. An NZNO project group, headed by organising services manager Laila Harre, is co-ordinating the development of the MECA.

The first step towards the goal of a PHC MECA was the campaign launch on May 8. Over the next two months, NZNO organisers will visit all PHC sites in their areas--1105 nationwide--explaining to members and potential members the concept of the MECA and how NZNO aims to achieve it. At these meetings, NZNO members will be asked to sign pledges to support pay parity in PHC and the MECA. "These pledges will not be a binding commitment but indicative of the support for such a MECA," Payne-Harker said. The worksite visits will be a considerable addition to organisers' workloads. "We have budgeted additional hours for the whole project and those hours will be used for the worksite visits. What will help organisers and make the visits successful will be if members make a real effort to attend on time," Payne-Harker said.

Once the worksite visits have been completed, the claim based on parity with DHB members, will be developed. A postal ballot of all PHC worksites writ ask NZNO members if they want to join the PHC MECA. If the ballot supports the MECA, bargaining will be initiated in mid August.

NZNO will also be hosting a series of regional seminars for PHC members around the country. The timing of the seminars has not been finalised but they will focus on understanding the bargaining process. Members will get paid education Leave to attend. After the conclusion of each regional seminar, a stopwork will be held immediately and members will be asked to vote to endorse the broad principles of the claim.

Who should be on the negotiating team and the process for selecting the team will be decided once bargaining has been initiated. Negotiations will begin in November and the advocates will be experienced NZNO industrial staff.

Payne-Harker pointed out that developing the MECA was only part of the campaign. Running alongside the PHC MECA developments would be progress on Plunket, FPA and Blood Services collective agreements.

Harre said now was the ideal time to Launch the campaign. "The Government knows that to achieve its population health goats it must improve the capacity and effectiveness of primary health care nursing services."

Pressure to match DHB rates

The DHB MECA settlement had put real pressure on the primary health sector to match DHB wages and conditions. "Valuing primary health care must mean paying those who work in primary health fairly and providing real opportunities for professional development," Harre said. Chair of the College of Practice Nurses [sup.NZ]NO, Rosemary Minto, will be taking on a new role in the campaign. She with visit all the PHC sites in the Tauranga/Whakatane region outlining the rationale and plans for the MECA.

She is excited about the prospect of the PHC MEGA "and all the nurses I've talked to are feeling the same way".

She is confident the MEGA is achievable. Minto said practice nurses were not particularly well informed about industrial issues. "Some further education is needed. The DHB MEGA has inspired many practice nurses who are asking 'what about us?'".

As well as pay parity, national consistency for nurses' professional development was an important part of the campaign. "Achieving protected time for professional development would be a big step to enhancing our professionalism." Minto was unsure whether practice nurses fully realised it would be their work, their activism and their involvement in the campaign which would ensure its success. "The college's national committee is very committed to getting that message across."

And Minto will be playing her part in delivering that message when she visits PHC worksites. "I'm looking forward to the visits, particularly getting nurses inspired and thinking about the issues and what a PHC MECA will mean."

Reference

(1) NZNO (2003) Backgrounder on Nurse/Midwife Pay. Wellington: NZNO