Nurses will today begin voting on whether to accept an improved offer from DHBs after they previously rejected a $500m package.
The New Zealand Nurses Organisation has recommended to its members that they accept the offer, and they will have until Monday next week to cast their vote.
The vote comes after a lengthy dispute between the nurses and DHBs, with nurses saying they are chronically over-worked and underpaid, and DHBs saying there is only so much money to go around.
A $500m pay package increase offer was made last month, but that was rejected and strike action was threatened.
DHB spokesperson Helen Mason said yesterday in a statement that the latest offer "means more people will receive pay rises, there are increased commitments to addressing workforce issues and a firm undertaking to implement the outcome of the pay equity discussions with the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO)."
Ms Mason said DHBs were still planning for the July 12 planned strike, and that she hoped nurses would "look carefully at the revised offer."
NZNO Industrial Services Manager Cee Payne said "a primary reason we recommend the offer is because it addresses the historical undervaluing of nurses and midwives".
"We are determined to see nursing in New Zealand become, once again, a rewarding and attractive profession that people wish to join and grow a career in."
SHARE ME