A lawyer representing nearly 1,500 midwives has accused the Crown of failing to honour promises for better pay and improved contracts over nearly a decade, during the first day of High Court proceedings in Wellington.
The College of Midwives, leading the class action on behalf of self-employed Lead Maternity Carers, is demanding “fair and reasonable pay” and a revised contract model. #
Lead counsel Robert Kirkness detailed the history of negotiations, highlighting the Crown’s failure to implement two legally binding settlement agreements from 2015 and 2017. Despite co-designing a new funding model, the government did not secure the necessary funds in the 2018 Budget, citing “low chances of success.”
Kirkness argued that the Crown must be held accountable for breaking its legal commitments, stating that fair pay for midwives is a rightful payment for their hard, high-risk work.
He emphasised that midwives repeatedly sought mediation, hoping it would bring about necessary changes, but ultimately, their expectations were unmet.
An apology from a Ministry of Health staffer in 2018 acknowledged the unfulfilled promises, yet the midwives were left with no option but to resort to legal action.
The Crown is set to present its case on Tuesday, with the proceedings expected to last six weeks.
Image credit: Unsplash+
Good. Sue the f**kers into the ground.
Another vital instrument of society being discarded and treated like crap while Green MP’s languish idle around parliament being paid to make ‘weird’ noises and make non nonsensical incoherent utterances
Give these icons of intrinsic value and worth a break
And forget about the Greens