Mori nurses on the frontlines are paid 25 per cent less than those working for district health boards, the New Zealand Nurses Organisation says.
Mori nurses, who work for kaupapa Mori services, spoke at the Waitangi Tribunal Mana Whine inquiry from Wednesday to Friday, where they pushed for equal pay.
But nurses did not want to wait for the tribunal to end which could take months or years before they got parity with pkeh colleagues, union kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku explained.
It would cost $30 million to pay Mori nurses equally to DHB nurses, she said.
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Weve been on this kaupapa at least since 2006. Weve spoken to successive governments and presented evidence time and again to action groups and the Waitangi Tribunal about the systemic racism we endure.
Mori nurses werent valued by the Government, despite working to to dismantle the systemic barriers facing health for our people, Nuku said. Without us, health inequities would be far worse than they are.
Nurses in at primary health centres are paid 10.6 per cent less than those working for district health boards. (File photo)
Nurses in primary health centres are paid 10.6 per cent less than those working for district health boards, leaving them $7650 worse off a year. They went on strike several times last year to push for equal pay.
Meanwhile, kaupapa Mori services were chronically underfunded.
The injustice we face is real and tangible. We are paid drastically less than our Pkeh counterparts, and kaupapa Mori services are chronically underfunded, Nuku said.
The Government must uphold Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and address the structural racism in the healthcare system. An urgent and crucial step in this is equal pay for Mori nurses.
The union was also in discussions with the Ministry of Health to address the funding gap, she added.

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