Hospice nurses seek public support for pay rise.

Hospice nurses seeking pay rates equivalent to public hospital nurses' pay rates took their message to the streets last month in an effort to raise public support for their campaign. NZNO spokesperson Mark Lennox said hospice nurses spoke to members of their local communities about the need for comparable pay and conditions with their public hospital counterparts.

"Over three days of action, our members asked their communities to show they valued hospices, and the work hospice nurses do, by signing a letter to the Minister of Health Pete Hodgson seeking adequate government funding for fair pay and conditions in all hospices," he said. "Many were surprised that hospice nurses earned so much less than public hospital nurses. Nationally, more than 5000 letters were signed, which NZNO intends presenting to the Minister, accompanied by members and staff."

NZNO was in negotiations with 15 hospices for a national collective agreement, covering over 300 hospice nursing staff, for four months at the end of 2005. "Hospice employers want to give our members comparable pay and conditions with public hospital nurses, but they do not have the funding to do so," said Lennox. "Both sides worked constructively together to negotiate a national agreement but the government funding simply isn't there."

A registered nurse in a hospice can earn up to $10,000 less per annum than her counterpart in a public hospital. Hospices also lag behind in conditions such as annual leave and sick leave, he said.

The specialist role of hospice nurses was absolutely vital to the service hospices contributed in local communities and hospices were finding it increasingly difficult to attract and retain nursing staff, said Lennox. "Nobody could be in any doubt that the job of a hospice nurse is very special requiring a high level of skill and dedication."

NZNO has written to the Minister of Health seeking the extra funding required to ensure comparable pay and conditions with public hospital nurses. That figure is less than $2.5 million a year.

"Hospices rely on the goodwill and fantastic fundraising efforts of members of communities to fund part of their total budget. It is not reasonable to expect them to cover this cost," said Lennox.