New Zealand midwives are set to march on Parliament on Thursday May 3 as they call for fair pay and working conditions.
Lead Maternity Carer midwives are recognised as world-class but the decades of under-funding has contributed to a staffing crisis, advocates say.
Up to 40 Waikato midwives have left the job in the last six months alone, the Dear David Clark campaign said.
The New Zealand College of Midwives calculated that the average wage for a skilled rural LMC midwife is approximately $7.23 an hour after tax and expenses – less than half the minimum wage.
A new payment structure was negotiated in early 2017 with the previous government but is now in need of urgent action, they say.
On May 3, midwives, mothers, children and their supporters are assembling at the Beehive in Wellington in the march for equality.
SHARE ME