[New Zealand] Payroll systems delay nurse pay rises

In New Zealand, around 10,000 nurses working for Te Whatu Ora are overdue pay rises worth thousands of dollars. The public health agency has said outdated payroll systems are to blame for its failure to meet deadlines on a long-fought pay equity deal, The Post reports.

NZ Nurses Organisation chief executive Paul Goulter said Auckland, Waitemata, Counties and Nelson districts were yet to implement new rates which should have taken effect in September, affecting about 10,000 members.

“It’s unfair that these members are having to wait even longer to receive justice and have their undervaluation continue while they wait to be paid,“ he said.

Under the July agreement, nurses and healthcare assistants would receive pay hikes of between about $3100 and $12,000 depending on their role and experience. Lump sums of $15,000, back paid to March 2022 were also reportedly part of the settlement, worth $4 billion.

The deal took seven years to reach and was about more than money, Mr Goulter said. “It’s the recognition of long-standing gender discrimination, it has that additional, quite emotional component to it and that has really aggravated the situation.”

Andrew Slater - chief people officer at Te Whatu Ora - said “almost all” the pay equity-related payments should be completed by the end of November. Some lump sum and back payments had already been made and “the vast majority” will be completed by the end of the year, he said.

It is reportedly understood that four districts do not intend to pay lump sums and back pay until 2024, with one district saying it cannot pay till December 2024, two months after the collective agreement has expired. 

Te Whatu Ora did not respond to this claim and declined an interview.

Most of Te Whatu Ora’s payroll systems “aren’t fit-for-purpose for our requirements in 2023”, Mr Slater’s statement said.

He repeated the same sentiment last week when The Post revealed that junior and senior doctors were owed thousands of dollars in reimbursements and salary underpayments as a result of the same ailing payroll systems. 

Mr Slater added at the time that none of the systems were compliant with the Holidays Act.

The volume and variety of agreements the mega-employer was processing in a short time was a challenge, Mr Slater reportedly said with “pay equity, lump sum payments, back pay, and new pay rates, each covering nurses, midwives, and administration staff, and with more to come”.

“We understand that our people are frustrated by the time this is taking, and we’re doing everything we can to get the pay increases through as quickly as possible.”

Mr Goulter had little patience with the delays when Te Whatu Ora had agreed to the deadline at the settlement.

“To roll up the usual arguments that it’s due to IT and not enough staff, well you should have worked with the union on that beforehand.”

In response to the question of how members were feeling, Mr Goulter said, “Intense anger is probably a nice way to describe it ... That’s the bare minimum of intensity of emotion our members are feeling.”

The union has reportedly taken the dispute to the Employment Relations Authority, calling for the rates to be implemented immediately.

Source: The Post

(Links and quotes via original reporting)

In New Zealand, around 10,000 nurses working for Te Whatu Ora are overdue pay rises worth thousands of dollars. The public health agency has said outdated payroll systems are to blame for its failure to meet deadlines on a long-fought pay equity deal, The Post reports.

NZ Nurses Organisation chief executive Paul Goulter said Auckland, Waitemata, Counties and Nelson districts were yet to implement new rates which should have taken effect in September, affecting about 10,000 members.

“It’s unfair that these members are having to wait even longer to receive justice and have their undervaluation continue while they wait to be paid,“ he said.

Under the July agreement, nurses and healthcare assistants would receive pay hikes of between about $3100 and $12,000 depending on their role and experience. Lump sums of $15,000, back paid to March 2022 were also reportedly part of the settlement, worth $4 billion.

The deal took seven years to reach and was about more than money, Mr Goulter said. “It’s the recognition of long-standing gender discrimination, it has that additional, quite emotional component to it and that has really aggravated the situation.”

Andrew Slater - chief people officer at Te Whatu Ora - said “almost all” the pay equity-related payments should be completed by the end of November. Some lump sum and back payments had already been made and “the vast majority” will be completed by the end of the year, he said.

It is reportedly understood that four districts do not intend to pay lump sums and back pay until 2024, with one district saying it cannot pay till December 2024, two months after the collective agreement has expired. 

Te Whatu Ora did not respond to this claim and declined an interview.

Most of Te Whatu Ora’s payroll systems “aren’t fit-for-purpose for our requirements in 2023”, Mr Slater’s statement said.

He repeated the same sentiment last week when The Post revealed that junior and senior doctors were owed thousands of dollars in reimbursements and salary underpayments as a result of the same ailing payroll systems. 

Mr Slater added at the time that none of the systems were compliant with the Holidays Act.

The volume and variety of agreements the mega-employer was processing in a short time was a challenge, Mr Slater reportedly said with “pay equity, lump sum payments, back pay, and new pay rates, each covering nurses, midwives, and administration staff, and with more to come”.

“We understand that our people are frustrated by the time this is taking, and we’re doing everything we can to get the pay increases through as quickly as possible.”

Mr Goulter had little patience with the delays when Te Whatu Ora had agreed to the deadline at the settlement.

“To roll up the usual arguments that it’s due to IT and not enough staff, well you should have worked with the union on that beforehand.”

In response to the question of how members were feeling, Mr Goulter said, “Intense anger is probably a nice way to describe it ... That’s the bare minimum of intensity of emotion our members are feeling.”

The union has reportedly taken the dispute to the Employment Relations Authority, calling for the rates to be implemented immediately.

Source: The Post

(Links and quotes via original reporting)