1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,480 Speaker 1: Don't go to the hospital today. Thirty six thousand nurses 2 00:00:02,520 --> 00:00:06,080 Speaker 1: on strike. Paul Goalzet is the New Zealand Nurses' Organization 3 00:00:06,160 --> 00:00:08,280 Speaker 1: chief executive. He's with us this morning. Paul, good morning, 4 00:00:09,080 --> 00:00:11,200 Speaker 1: Good morning. Now, no one is going to die because 5 00:00:11,240 --> 00:00:13,840 Speaker 1: of the strike, are they. You've got life preserving services 6 00:00:13,920 --> 00:00:14,400 Speaker 1: ready to go. 7 00:00:15,840 --> 00:00:19,600 Speaker 2: Yeah. Each hospital is required to ensure there's a minimum 8 00:00:19,680 --> 00:00:22,480 Speaker 2: number of staff to ensure patient care continues. 9 00:00:23,120 --> 00:00:28,840 Speaker 1: It's all over, ironically actually safe staffing levels. And you 10 00:00:28,960 --> 00:00:30,840 Speaker 1: think the changes that have been made will mean that 11 00:00:30,880 --> 00:00:32,680 Speaker 1: there will be fewer nurses on a shift. Do you 12 00:00:33,240 --> 00:00:35,280 Speaker 1: know how many fewer it might mean? 13 00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:39,480 Speaker 2: No, no, we don't because it varies. The very nature 14 00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:43,760 Speaker 2: that staffing system that they want to pause means that 15 00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:46,800 Speaker 2: there's great variance across the different wards, et cetera, according 16 00:00:46,840 --> 00:00:49,080 Speaker 2: to just how many patients have gotten and just how 17 00:00:49,520 --> 00:00:53,400 Speaker 2: sick or injured those particular patients are. So there's great variants. 18 00:00:53,440 --> 00:00:58,320 Speaker 2: And we have actually tried to ascertain through official information 19 00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:02,960 Speaker 2: requests from the Fatal War exactly what that number looks like, 20 00:01:03,040 --> 00:01:04,280 Speaker 2: but we can't get that data. 21 00:01:05,360 --> 00:01:08,120 Speaker 1: They won't give you the data on how many nurses 22 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:10,760 Speaker 1: are needed per patient to be safe. 23 00:01:11,520 --> 00:01:14,880 Speaker 2: We'll put it another way, how many short they are 24 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:15,520 Speaker 2: on each shift? 25 00:01:16,120 --> 00:01:19,040 Speaker 1: Right? Well, that seems a bit MINGI of them. 26 00:01:19,280 --> 00:01:23,200 Speaker 2: I would have thought, yeah, yeah, if you try to 27 00:01:23,240 --> 00:01:26,480 Speaker 2: work together with an employer, that's pretty critical information and 28 00:01:26,520 --> 00:01:31,320 Speaker 2: it's been being withheld and we've really asking for that 29 00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:33,759 Speaker 2: through the bargaining as well, through the good faith provisions 30 00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:36,560 Speaker 2: and the bargaining. But we would like to work together 31 00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:40,319 Speaker 2: on this rather than just have them make unilateral decisions. 32 00:01:40,360 --> 00:01:43,399 Speaker 1: If your goal is highlight to the public how unsafe 33 00:01:43,440 --> 00:01:47,280 Speaker 1: staffing is, is taking you know, thirty six thousand nurses 34 00:01:47,319 --> 00:01:49,840 Speaker 1: off for an eight hour shift the last way to 35 00:01:49,880 --> 00:01:51,400 Speaker 1: make the point. 36 00:01:51,760 --> 00:01:55,400 Speaker 2: Well, this is what the nurses themselves asked for. You know, 37 00:01:55,480 --> 00:01:58,560 Speaker 2: we've been bargaining for a number of months. They're exasperated 38 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:02,880 Speaker 2: by how the process drags on and it happens every 39 00:02:02,880 --> 00:02:05,560 Speaker 2: time we do this. And then finally to funtal War 40 00:02:06,320 --> 00:02:09,119 Speaker 2: came up with the sort of these are our two 41 00:02:09,200 --> 00:02:13,880 Speaker 2: key positions. One is this are safe staffing, pausing that, 42 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:17,960 Speaker 2: et cetera. That alarms nurses because already they are understaffed 43 00:02:17,960 --> 00:02:22,239 Speaker 2: and pausing it exacerbates that problem. And also there's issues 44 00:02:22,280 --> 00:02:24,000 Speaker 2: around the wage increase as well. 45 00:02:24,040 --> 00:02:26,040 Speaker 1: All right, Paul, thank you very much your time. Appreciate 46 00:02:26,120 --> 00:02:30,280 Speaker 1: it. It's Paul Galter. He's the New Zealand Nurses Organization chief executive. 47 00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:33,480 Speaker 1: That struck between eleven am and seven pm today and 48 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:37,200 Speaker 1: people saying, don't worry, you know no one will die. Well, 49 00:02:37,200 --> 00:02:38,920 Speaker 1: I mean you can't say that, ken, you don't know 50 00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:42,880 Speaker 1: that for sure. But they're basically just saying you will 51 00:02:42,919 --> 00:02:45,280 Speaker 1: still be able to access healthcare should you need it, 52 00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:47,800 Speaker 1: especially if you are in a critical condition and the 53 00:02:47,800 --> 00:02:50,120 Speaker 1: need of that. By the way, their pay increase that 54 00:02:50,160 --> 00:02:51,679 Speaker 1: they were looking at that he was just talking about it, 55 00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:54,679 Speaker 1: then half a percent they've been offered for April twenty 56 00:02:54,760 --> 00:02:58,160 Speaker 1: twenty five year, and then one percent the year after that. 57 00:02:58,160 --> 00:03:01,760 Speaker 1: They say it's not inflation, so it's essentially a pay cut. 58 00:03:03,080 --> 00:03:06,040 Speaker 2: For more from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge. Listen live 59 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:09,200 Speaker 2: to news Talks it'd be from five am weekdays, or 60 00:03:09,240 --> 00:03:11,160 Speaker 2: follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.