Nurses have cancelled their upcoming strike after a breakthrough in pay negotiations with the DHBs.
The Nurses Organisation has agreed to take the government's latest offer back to their members to consider.
Last month, around 30,000 nurses walked off the job for eight hours and had threatened to do so again in a fortnight.
The Health Minister Andrew Little says he's pleased all parties have managed to avoid that disruption.
He says he cannot give exact details of the offer, but puts its value at roughly $400 million over 27 months.
The offer includes a regular pay bump - in line with the public sector pay constraints outlined earlier this year.
But - more significantly - it also makes an advance payment on separate negotiations to lift the sector's pay to match similar male-dominated professions.
It's hoped those separate pay equity negotiations can be settled by the end of the year or early next year.
Today's offer also contains a commitment to review staffing levels and run a recruitment campaign - with the union - to attract more people to the profession.
