Nurses are promising a strike planned for Thursday won't mess with patients' needs or the coronavirus response.
About 3200 primary health care nurses in general practice and accident and emergency centres will walk off the job, unhappy they're paid about 10 percent less than their peers employed by DHBs and working in hospitals.
"We gave 14 days' notice and that was to ensure planning could take place so that there weren't any serious issues we need to be concerned about," New Zealand Nurses' Organisation (NZNO) spokesperson Chris Wilson told The AM Show on Wednesday.
"The employers have been very cooperative in that regard. Services will be well-scaled back. We don't believe there will be any situations at all where urgent emergency services will be compromised."
Unlike most strikes, Wilson says the nurses' employers have been very accommodating - they too want the nurses to be better-paid, but just don't have the money.
"The employers actually want pay parity, they need to, because the recruitment and retention issues in primary health care are very serious."
DHB nurses can be paid up to $77,300. Salaries in primary care top out at about $69,700, the NZNO says. Making up the difference would cost the Government about $15 million.
"We are ready of course to meet anytime and resolve this, but the Government does need to put in some additional funding so it can be resolved," said Wilson.
Health Minister Chris Hipkins, when the strike was announced two weeks ago, told NZME it would be inappropriate for the Government to get involved in a pay dispute, despite the Government being the primary source of funding.
"Their pay and conditions are not negotiated with the Government or Crown entities," Hipkins said, saying their pay was a matter for them and their employers, who are running private businesses.
Asked if hospital nurses deserved to be paid more as their jobs are more stressful than those in GPs' offices, Wilson said that was no longer the case.
"Not at all... More and more services have been devolved to primary health care from the tertiary sector. The objective around that is to be more economic and treat people at the front door - it's less expensive than when they go into, for instance, a public hospital. The skills and expertise has certainly increased 10-fold over the years."