Nurses at a rally in 2022. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Nurses are stopping work to review the latest pay offer from Te Whatu Ora.
Members of the Nurses Organisation (NZNO), who work for Health New Zealand, will go to one of 57 two-hour meetings next week.
NZNO members have asked for a pay rise that matches the rate of inflation, but Te Whatu Ora's offer of $4000 this year and a further 3 percent next year falls short.
Te Whatu Ora had not addressed members' claims around safe staffing and their wellbeing at work, NZNO said.
At the meetings, nurses, midwives, health care assistants and kaimahi hauora can review the latest offer and discuss next steps, according to the union.
It was expected the meetings would be well attended.
NZNO Chief Executive Paul Goulter said: "Members would much rather be at work focussing on their patients but we're holding these meetings to decide what to do next because Te Whatu Ora's offer will not help them deliver the levels of care their patients deserve.
"We are at a time when Aotearoa desperately needs nurses and other health workers. Pay and conditions that recognise their value would make nursing more attractive and help keep the nurses we have.
"Right now nurses do not feel safe coming into work and, ultimately, patients will pay the price for hospitals that are continuously understaffed and under-resourced."
Paid stop work meetings are a right for Te Whatu Ora nurses according to their collective agreement and the Employment Relations Act.