Frustration over their patient safety concerns remaining unaddressed after a year of bargaining has resulted in more than 36,000 NZNO nurses, midwives, health care assistants and kaimahi hauora voting to take further strike action. NZNO chief executive Paul Goulter says the NZNO negotiating team has now held 31 days of meetings with Te Whatu Ora since collective bargaining began in September 2024. Te Whatu Ora’s own figures show that New Zealand’s hospitals were, on average, 587 nurses short every shift last year. “It’s time for Te Whatu Ora to now reflect this in their bargaining approach; remove the covert recruitment freeze, enforce safe staffing levels and commit to hiring nurse graduates. “Te Whatu Ora nurses, midwives, health care assistants and kaimahi hauora will stand proudly alongside primary school teachers, allied health and mental health workers on 23 October,” Paul Goulter says.