Tens of thousands of nurses will walk off the job tomorrow for an eight-hour strike over better pay and staffing levels.
Members of the New Zealand Nurses Organisation overwhelmingly voted to reject a second offer in their current round of collective negotiations.
The strike will affect all hospitals and DHBs - and comes just weeks after the Government announced three years of public sector pay restrictions.
The National Party's health spokesperson Dr Shane Reti says he can't fathom why the government is bankrolling a major health system overhaul reform when nurses feel underpaid and undervalued.
A senior nurse and union member working for the Canterbury DHB says the government and health bosses need to re-evaluate.
Health Minister Andrew Little spoke to Susie Ferguson.
