Angry Nurses and healthcare workers took the streets of central Christchurch calling on the Government to address chronic staff shortages.
Angry healthcare workers were out in protest at 19 rallies across the country on Saturday, calling for more trained nurses. In Christchurch, more than 200 Nurses, health and community support workers gathered at the Bridge of Remembrance, before marching through the central city to rally in Victoria Square.
The NZ Nurses Organisation is blaming decades of poor planning, inadequate funding and neglect by successive governments has led to a crisis in New Zealand's health system.
It's calling on all political parties to commit to funding more than 4,000 trained nurses, along with improving the pay and working conditions to retain nurses currently working in the profession.
Nurse's Union representative Alice Olynsma said pay equity issues for healthcare workers still haven't been addressed. "We are thousands of nurses short. And even the ones that are working at the moment are understaffed, underpaid, overworked". The Nurses Union has launched a petition, calling on all political parties in election year to commit to fixing the pay inequities and conditions, to help end the nursing shortage crisis.
- By Geoff Sloan
- Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
