Around 700 Plunket staff and nurses would be taking strike action for four hours starting tomorrow morning.

Whānau Āwhina Plunket chief executive Fiona Kingsford said it was the first time in at least 35 years Plunket nurses had gone on strike.

“This will have an impact on the level of support the organisation will be able to provide to whānau during this time, and we apologise for the inconvenience this may cause.”

Kingsford said Whānau Āwhina Plunket respected the right of employees to take industrial action and acknowledged the important role they played in delivering high quality health and development services to whānau across Aotearoa.

 “If we were to offer our staff pay parity, our government funding shortfall this year alone would be over $9m.

“We understand that Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand is working on advice to the Government on possible solutions to pay parity and we look forward to being updated.”

Nurses had been in touch with whānau whose home visits or appointments would not be going ahead while the strike was on, to reschedule, Kingsford said.

All drop-in clinics had been postponed, however PlunketLine would still be taking calls.

Kingsford said parents and caregivers could call PlunketLine on 0800 933 922 if they need to speak to a nurse about their child’s health and wellbeing during this time.

“They may experience longer wait times as we will have fewer staff on during this period. If anyone requires urgent care they should call 111 for an ambulance.”

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The charity is Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest health and wellbeing support service for tamariki – seeing 290,000 under 5s. Its nurses provide clinical assessments, and along with Kaiāwhina and Community Karitāne, support whānau and families, through home and clinic visits, as well as PlunketLine, a free 24/7 telephone advice service for parents.