Nurses out in force for patient care

Thursday, 31 July 2025

More than 60 Wairarapa nurses, midwives and healthcare workers took to the streets in Masterton on Wednesday as part of a nationwide strike.

The 24-hour industrial action followed the failure of Health NZ to address safe staffing concerns during the collective agreement bargaining process, a New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) spokesperson said.

“It’s a fantastic turnout,” NZNO delegate Tanya Corlett-Galyier said. “We’ve had support from firefighters, teachers, E Tu union and people from NZ Post.”

Corlett-Galyier said the main issue was not pay, but chronic understaffing and outdated staffing calculations that did not reflect increased patient acuity.

Money was “not what we’re on about”, she said.

“It’s as though they're trying to make us look like we're greedy,” she said. “If being greedy means I want my family to be cared for, the public to be cared for, then yes, I’m greedy.”

Understaffing meant patients were “not getting the care that they need,” she said. “We just do not have the time to be able to provide every single patient with the care that they deserve.

“That means patients are unfortunately at risk of developing things like pressure injuries because we're not getting the time to actually turn our patients enough, or there are delayed admissions.”

Corlett-Galyier said night shifts at Wairarapa Hospital’s emergency department were routinely short by one or two staff members, and the high dependency unit also needed more staff.

“We are drained, we don’t want to call in sick when we are unwell, we don’t want to take annual leave,” she said. “Often staff will go home in tears.”

The strike was to end at 9am on Thursday.