Decisions reached through consensus at Te Rau Kokiri negotiations.

Significant progress was made at last month's Te Rau Kokiri (TRK) negotiations at St Michael's Marae in Palmerston North. Negotiations for the historic NZNO/Maori and iwi health care provider multi-employer collective agreement (MECA) began in November last year (see Kai Tiaki Nursing New Zealand, December 2007, p27). NZNO's lead advocate Jo Wrigley said decisions at last month's negotiations were all reached by consensus. "There was very enthusiastic participation by the 27 employer representatives and we are very happy with that. We have made some good progress on the document."

The 27 employer representatives represent the 60 Maori and iwi health care providers taking part in the negotiations. A number of providers have got together regionally and sent one person to represent a number of health care providers. NZNO has a five-strong team.

Agreements reached

Wrigley said agreement was reached on the bargaining process agreement (BPA) and four clauses of the document, which is modelled on the NZNO/primary health care (PHC) MECA negotiated in 2006 and ratified early last year. These clauses deal with parties to the agreement, coverage and application, variations to the MECA and definitions of positions covered by the MECA. "We reached agreement on the BPA and these clauses and employer representatives will now talk with the other employers and hopefully the BPA and the first four clauses can be signed off at the negotiations later this month," Wrigley said.

An innovation at last month's negotiations was the introduction of te rakau, an idea suggested by NZNO kaumatua Richard Wallace. "Matua Richard suggested we use te rakau as a speaking stick and pass it around as people wish to speak. The idea was embraced by the employers. It is a rolling korero until we reach consensus so te rakau has been a really good tool. We have also had a lot of helpful input from the two local kaumatua," Wrigley said.

Petition calls for extra funding

Joint NZNO/employer lobbying for the extra funding required for TRK is focused on getting as many signatures as possible on a petition, which is to be presented to the Health Select Committee in late March or early April The petition calls for funding for TRK to ensure pay parity between primary and secondary health services. The petition states the funding is needed because:

* The PHC workforce employed by Maori and iwi providers plays an essential role, making a real difference in the broader Maori community.

* The dedicated and skilled professionals who deliver these services to Maori communities are the key to the success of the Government's PHC Strategy/He Korowai Oranga.

* Their pay levels lag significantly behind other health professionals, specifically their counterparts employed in district health boards.

* Not only is this inequitable, recruiting and retaining these health professionals is becoming increasingly difficult as the pay gap widens.

* Maori and iwi providers must be adequately funded to ensure they can retain and train the staff they need and pay their staff fairly. The petition, launched on Christmas Eve and closing on February 15, has attracted hundreds of signatures.

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Employers at the negotiations were to take petition forms to Waitangi Day celebrations and members of the Council of Trade Unions' Runanga collected signatures at the Parihaka International Peace Festival last month.

Maori Party support for negotiations

The Maori Party has lent its support to TRK. Last month health spokesperson Tariana Turia said there was a huge danger this critical Maori workforce would be lost because the Maori and iwi PHC sector could not compete with the wages of the mainstream health sector. The Government was undermining the not-for-profit sector by denying it the funding it needed to pay staff properly, she said.

She described the TRK negotiations as "a unique historical precedent" which should be celebrated. "Instead, the Government is starving this workforce of the vital funding it needs to achieve pay parity with public hospital pay rates. Improving health outcomes for Maori has to mean something more than an election slogan." "Our people--and this highly skilled workforce--need to be properly recognised for the essential role they play", Turia said.

St Michael's Marae is the venue for all negotiations, with more scheduled next month.