Listen
Photo: 123RF
Hospital nurses are eyeing up possible strike action after rejecting the government's latest pay offer, while their counterparts in hospice care pursue pay parity with hospital nurses.
Hospice nurses are paid significantly less, with estimates putting the difference between 10 and 20 percent less than DHB nurses.
Nurses employed by 18 different hospice groups are currently voting on new MECAs - Multi-Employer Collective Agreements.
If they are successful in achieving parity, it will put increased financial pressure on hospices, which already rely heavily on charity to meet operational costs.
But if pay parity is not achieved, how can the hospice sector attract and retain qualified nurses?
Kathryn talks through the issues with Denise van Aalst from Palliative Care Nurses New Zealand and Danielle Davies, an industrial adviser for New Zealand Nurses Organisation members who work in the Private Hospital and Hospice sector.