Nursing union not putting pay equity settlement to members - Little

The New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) is not putting the pay equity settlement to its members for a vote, Health Minister Andrew Little says.

The pay equity settlement between district health boards and the NZNO was revealed on April 8.

The settlement announced includes pay rises for nurses of around $6000 to $16,000 based on their nursing role and experience.

However, the new pay rates won't be back paid to December 31, 2019, which was agreed to by nurses in previous separate collective agreement pay rounds since the equity claims were lodged in 2017.

READ MORE: 'Feelings of betrayal' over no back pay for nurses in settlement

Nurses have said this has left some of them feeling betrayed.

The NZNO told 1News Little had "jumped the gun" and that it was currently preparing a communication to its members.

It said a statement would be issued later today.

That statement said the proposed settlement was contrary to the Fair Pay Act, which states a settlement that "contains a term that reduces an employee’s employment agreement entitlements has no effect. The proposed settlement agreement conflicts with this rule as it removes a large part of the contractual back pay entitlement previously agreed."

As a result, NZNO chief executive Paul Goulter said ratification vote had been cancelled.

"We have informed members of this advice and will be consulting with them on next steps, specifically whether they endorse an approach to the Employment Relation Authority to review the legality of the proposed lump sum payment, or whether their preference is to vote on the deal offered, despite it breaching earlier agreements."

Little said in a statement he had been notified last night the union will not be putting the settlement to nurses to vote on next week.

"Obviously I am concerned about this. There is a binding agreement in place between the parties and it should be honoured," he said.

"My expectation is that the parties to this pay equity agreement stand by with what they've agreed to. If there are misunderstandings, it's my expectation that they will work quickly to resolve any misunderstandings," Little later said in a press conference.

He said the Government had no more funding to put into the pay deal than it already had and it was not going to "fund decades of underpayment".

"I hope the parties can quickly meet, resolve any misunderstandings and we can get on and get pay levels to nurses that they have long waited for."

Little denied the NZNO's allegation he had jumped the gun. "I got notification from a source unrelated to these negotiations and parties and it was pretty obvious to me there was therefore information circulating, and I told the nurses organisation before I put my statement out that I would be putting out a statement."

On the issue of back pay, Little said it would have cost the Government hundreds of millions of dollars on top of the agreement already.

He said the $10,000 lump payment part of the settlement was recognition of the delay in pay equity and is "retrospective in character".

"I just hope the parties can work through this and then everybody can be pleased that we have addressed this long-standing historical injustice."

Nurses were meant to have from April 20 to 29 to vote on the settlement.