Nurses strikes during vaccine rollout possible - union

Published: March 9, 2021, 4:23 a.m.

The NZ Nurses Organisation says it will not rule out strike action during the mass Covid-19 vaccine roll-out if it is unable to reach an agreement on satisfactory pay agreements. The government revealed yesterday that it has bought enough Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines for the whole country and is hoping to reach herd immunity levels by the end of the year. Nine hundred vaccinators have been trained to give the Pfizer injection, but the Ministry of Health wants up to 3000 extra full-time immunisers for the mass vaccine roll-out, and most of them are likely to be nurses. Nurses Organisation Industrial Manager Glenda Alexander says it will be a big ask to rally that many people.