9 Jun 2021

Healthcare assistant on why she's unhappy with latest DHB offer

From Morning Report, 6:16 am on 9 June 2021

At 11am on Wednesday nurses will down tools to join marches and pickets across the country in a attempt to force a breakthrough in their dispute over pay and working conditions.

Nearly all elective procedures and outpatient clinics are cancelled for today, as thousands of nurses go on strike.

In Auckland, only two vaccination centres will open, with the lack of available nurses prompting safety concerns.

Marches are happening in all the major cities - in the capital, they will head to Parliament; while in smaller towns, many will form picket lines outside their hospitals.

It's after months of negotiations between the union and the district health boards where both sides have failed to find a solution.

Rhonda Hare who works as a healthcare assistant at Matariki Hospital in the Waikato town of Te Awamutu, told reporter Harry Lock why she's so unhappy with the DHBs' latest offer.