Fair play campaign to be launched next month.

The second set of negotiations for the NZNO/ District Health Board (DHB) Nurses' and Midwives' Multi-Employer Collective Agreement (MECA) are scheduled for late this month, with the formal launch of NZNO's Fair Play Campaign scheduled for International Working Women's Day on March 8.

NZNO industrial adviser Glenda Alexander said the Fair Play Campaign was as much about equity in the workplace as it was about pay. "Our Fair Pay Campaign secured a major pay catch-up for DHB nurses to ensure pay parity with other similarly qualified professionals in New Zealand. Our Fair Play Campaign is about maintaining that pay parity, but with a greater emphasis on employment equity issues," she said. Employment equity included fairness in recruitment, opportunities and promotion at work, and identifying and removing barriers that prevented people from getting equitable opportunities and treatment at work.

The format launch of the Fair Play Campaign will include activities at local DHB level.

Issues-based approach

Referring to the MECA negotiations, she said both teams had agreed on an issues-based approach and the days scheduled for tater this month would explore ways of resolving issues. NZNO members have endorsed six principles underpinning the issues-based approach. These are: maintaining and sustaining pay parity; a two-year term; fairness and equity; superannuation as part of the total remuneration package; coverage nationally to include all those members employed by DHBs who either supervise or are part of a nursing/midwifery team; and to update the MECA document to streamline entitlements and interpretations.

More negotiations will be held on March 13-14.