Rest home workers protest

A chorus of car horns rang out in support of the Manawatu rest home workers who lined both sides of Napier Rd to protest at the pay conditions offered by their employer, Presbyterian Support Central (PSC).

About 60 healthcare assistants, nurses and support staff from PSC-owned Brightwater and Willard homes in Palmerston North and Coombrae home in Feilding attended the two-hour stopwork protest yesterday.

Co-organised by the Service and Food Workers Union and the New Zealand Nurses Organisation, protests were also held in Wellington, Levin, Wanganui and Masterton.

Service and Food Workers Union organiser Linda Deans said pay negotiations began in June but fell over when union workers were offered a 3.1 per cent pay increase, instead of their requested 5 per cent increase.

Ms Deans said their request was reasonable as PSC received a Government-funded increase of 4.9 per cent in July.

But PSC Central chief executive Chris Graham said 1.8 per cent of that funding was given to them for registered nurses alone.

PSC plans to give 20 of their 69 registered nurses a larger increase than that offered to other staff, despite union opposition.

"We're proposing that a number of positions will receive significantly higher increases. We also want to reward staff who complete qualifications in the care of older people.

"We've made a cost of living offer of 3.1 per cent, which we believe is generous in the current economic environment."

Mr Graham said it would be difficult to keep qualified nurses in the Lower North Island if they were were not paid in accordance with other regions.

He was disappointed about the collapse of recent pay negotiations but said PSC had agreed to go back into mediation with the union. The date has not yet been set.

Brightwater nurse Lyn Williams said recent negotiations in Wellington were "a waste of bloody time" as the PSC staff present had not been able to make any binding decisions.

Mrs Williams said the public support shown to the workers, who held signs emblazoned with "give us a fair go" and "piss poor salary for care workers", was "amazing".

Willard Home healthcare assistant Margaret Tansley said some union members had opted to stay behind to help the non-union members look after the elderly residents.

"Most of the residents have supported us and we've got them to sign petitions."

- © Fairfax NZ News

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