Nurse disputes union's negotiation process

A senior nurses' union official has spoken out about a storm of anger, bitterness and abuse against its officials by some union members during recent pay talks. Nurses voted in early August to accept a pay deal worth $520 million after strike action and more than a year of negotiations with district health boards. But, in an editorial in the October issue of the nursing journal Kai Tiaki, Hilary Graham-Smith says it took a toll. She says at one point the union was "harangued" for calling off a strike that it had to cancel for legal reasons. She adds members and non-members took to social media to "rain down abuse", which was hard on officials. Danni Wilkinson is a registered nurse who ran a 'Nightingales Fight for Fair Pay' Facebook page, which continues. She defends the use of social media.