A message for the PHC MECA stop work meetings from the DHB MECA negotiation team

PHC MECA Update 15 July 2020

Kia ora koutou,

Make sure you attend your Union /Stopwork Meeting! It’s your collective agreement so we need your voice.

As earlier indicated the Union/stopwork meetings will be held:

DATE:  Thursday 23 July 2020
TIME:   1230 – 1430                                                                               

NZNO members are entitled to attend these union meetings under the Employment Relations Act 2000. They are paid time for anyone who is working during these hours. These meetings do not include lunch breaks, they are paid work time.

The two hours includes 30 minutes travel time to and from the meetings. Note the substantive part of the meetings will therefore run from 1-2pm to facilitate travel.

NZNO has advised your employer that you are entitled to attend a meeting and if they believe their operations cannot continue without some NZNO members they need to contact NZNO to make such arrangements. NZNO has given employers at least 14 days notice of the meeting so we would in the first instance prefer alternatives such as other staff covering, or rescheduling of non-urgent matters to facilitate NZNO members attending.

The objective will be for as many NZNO members as possible to leave every workplace for two hours to attend a meeting. These will be offsite meetings in as many centres as can be arranged, and Zoom options will be available where this is not possible.

Face-to-face meetings

A national schedule of these is below. It is expected that members who can attend within 30 minutes each way travel time do leave their workplace and attend a meeting. Talk to your colleagues and discuss car pooling. We have endeavoured to provide venues where parking is accessible.

Zoom meetings

Details of how to access these Zoom meetings will be through to you Monday 20 July. Due to limited capacity these are clearly for members in those worksites where it is not possible to actually travel to a meeting.

The travel time is also facilitated for these meetings. It may be, for example in smaller areas, that you want to gather at a colleague’s house offsite and attend the Zoom meeting as a group – as the workplace may not be a suitable venue for the length of the meetings. We are encouraging a group approach in the worksite to utilise Zoom, rather than multi individuals so as to offer access to as many workplaces as possible.

What else this week

This week NZNO Chief Executive Memo Musa wrote to Director General of Health Ashley Bloomfield, copying in Chief Nursing Officer Margareth Broodkoorn, detailing the issues and indicating: 

“It would truly be a lost opportunity if this pay disparity is not urgently addressed and the inequity is allowed to continue.

“We seek your support to advocate for the necessary additional funding enabling this MECA to be settled as soon as possible without further frustration, discontent and disruption.”

Petition and posters

Please keep encouraging patients, clients, whānau and friends to sign the petition. We now have more than 9000 signatures, but we need more and quickly to keep the pressure on as we lead up to the union/stopwork meetings.

And as you know we have adjusted your posters so they are current, now that Seeing Red Day is over, and can remain up in the workplace highlighting the issues and the request to sign the petition. So please download and display these where patients can view them and, if possible, get them to sign the petition on their phones on the spot. We have also created slips here that can be given to patients with the petition address.  

Your employer should be supportive of the posters being placed up, and of patients/clients being asked to sign. Employers have been encouraged to do this by the NZ Medical Association and Green Cross Health Limited.

Pay parity is a shared issue!

Ngā mihi

Your NZNO negotiation team: Chris Wilson, Karen Smith, Sarah Redpath and Denise Moore

Meeting venues

Whangārei: Whangārei RSA, 9 Rust Avenue, Whangārei

Auckland-Glenfield: Glenfield Community Centre - Mission Hall - parking available in shopping mall, 96 Bentley Avenue Glenfield, North Shore, Auckland

Auckland-Papakura: Alfriston Hall - Main Hall, 300 Mill Road Papakura, Auckland

Auckland-Te Atatu: Te Atatu Peninsula Community Centre Kotuku - Heron Room, 595 Te Atatu Road, Te Atatu Peninsula, Auckland

Auckland-Three Kings: Fickling Convention Centre - Hillsborough Room, 546 Mt Albert Road, Three Kings, Auckland

Gisborne: Cosmpolitan Club, 190 Derby St, Gisborne

Hamilton: Hamilton Working Mens Club - Pavilion, 45 Commerce Street, Frankton, Hamilton

Taumarunui: Taumarunui RSA Club, 10 Marae Street, Taumarunui

Rotorua: Parksyde Community Centre, 7-9 Tarewa Place, Rotorua

Tauranga: Wesley Methodist Church Hall, 100 13th Avenue (between Fraser St & Cameron Rd), Tauranga

Palmerston North: Milson Community Centre - parking availabe on site, 77 Milson Line, Palmerston North

Masterton: Reap House - parking available at The Warehouse, 340 Queent Street, Masterton

Whanganui: Club Metro Rooms, 13 Ridgway Street, Whanganui

Napier: Taradale Medical Centre, 20 Puketapu Road, Napier

Johnsonville: Johnsonville Community Centre - Room 4, 3 Frankmoore Avenue, Johnsonville, Wellington

Lower Hutt: Knox Presbyterian Church - Board Room, 574 High Street, Lower Hutt, Wellington

Paraparaumu: Paraparaumu Library Foyer - Meeting Room, 9 Iver Trask Place, Paraparaumu

Wellington: NZ Nurses Organisation - Level 5 - Training Room Findex House,  57 Willis Street, Wellington

Blenheim: Wesley Centre Methodist Parish, 3 Henry Street, Blenheim

Motueka:  Motueka Community House, Decks Reserve, Motueka

Nelson: Founders Park - The Granery, 87 Atawhai Drive, Nelson

Christchurch: Cashmere Club - Cashmere Lounge, 50 Colombo Street, Cashmere, Christchurch

Timaru: Caroline Bay Trust Aoraki Centre (CBay), 11 Te Weka Street, Timaru

Dunedin: NZNO Dunedin Office, Training Room 10th Floor, John Wickliffe House, 265 Princes Street, Dunedin

Invercargill: Southland Hospice Gate 1, Southland Hospital Grounds, Elles Road, Invercargill

Queenstown: St Peter's Anglican Church, 2 Church Street, Queenstown