June 19, 2018
Raised expectations behind nurses’ strike
National's Māori development spokesperson Nuk Korako says a threatened nurses's strike shows former Finance Minister Steven Joyce was right when he claimed there was an $11 billion hole in Labour's fiscal plan.
That claim during the election campaign was rejected by Labour and debunked by economists.
But Mr Korako says it was promoted by the sort of promises Labour was making to nurses and other public sector employees.
"To get in power these guys promised every day would be Christmas. They even scoffed at Steven Joyce's $11 billion hole. Now we know it was totally correct and it could be even more," he says.
Nurses have rejected an offer of a 9 percent increase over 15 months, saying it is not shared fairly across the sector and doesn't make up for 10 years of under-funding.
Nuk Korako says the Government should intervene immedately to set up mediation between district health bioards and the nursing unions because of the dangers posed by a midwinter strike.
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