Nurses nationwide go to protest next week

On the 12^th of May, nurses all over the country will be going to protest.

New Zealand nurses have organised protests all over the country to show that they are unhappy with their pay rate as health workers.

Gemma Hinckesman, who is a 21-year-old nursing student at Auckland University, says that it is time for nurses to be treated fairly.

“It has already taken so long for nurses pay and the short staffing in the medical health sector to be addressed, it is time that something is done.”

“It is so great that New Zealand and many other countries around the world are all fighting for nurse’s wages at the same time” says Ms Hinckesman.

An Auckland DHB nurse who did not want to be named, says that nurses are going to protesting after years of being paid poorly.

They say that nurses have had an “insufficient pay increase offer and there are increased demands with the job.”

They further added that as a result, many New Zealand nurses are going overseas and are not likely to come back to New Zealand.

Sandra Luka, who is a 20-year-old nursing student at AUT University, says that there has been an unfair pay rise offered by the district health boards which has been rejected.

“Hopefully the strike will send a good message,” says Ms Luka.

“Better staffing and better care leads to better healthcare,” says Ms Luka.

Ms Luka says that the current situation has made her feel nervous about the future of her nursing career.

“I’m sure the patients don’t appreciate staff shortages… and the nurses themselves, I can imagine how difficult it would be,” says Ms Luka.