MERAS is now a signatory to the highest level engagement between CTU unions, the Ministry of Health, Minister of Health, and DHBs CEs, GMsHR and Chairs. The Minister of Health Hon Andrew Little and senior…

Sarah Pallett, newly elected MP in the Christchurch seat of Ilam, is the only current midwife in Parliament and brings the total number of union MPs in the Labour Caucus to 15. Sarah is a…

MERAS organiser Karen Gray (left) and ARA Midwifery lecturer Sarah Pallett (right) enjoyed a night of politics hosted by Canterbury Unions on Wednesday, 7 October. The event gave workers the opportunity to ask questions of…

Palmerston North Hospital’s delivery suite is struggling to put enough midwives on duty to look after women giving birth. As reported by Stuff on 5 September, the hospital is using extra nurses and health care assistants…

DHBs are looking to the United Kingdom to recruit midwives in the face of a severe shortage of midwives which is exacerbated by falling numbers of students studying midwifery. Jill Ovens, co-leader of MERAS, the midwifery…

“It was like we had little control over our own bodies.” That’s how one Auckland woman describes her experience of childbirth in the 1970s and 80’s That all changed 30 years ago (22 August 1990),…

Saturday, 22 August, marks the 30th anniversary of the Nurses Amendment Act 1990, providing statutory recognition for midwives as “safe and competent practitioners in their own right.” In addition, midwives won the statutory right to…

The unexpected resignation of Auckland Central MP Nikki Kaye has put a spotlight on the contest between Helen White, MERAS lawyer, and Chloe Swarbrick, who is a Green MP and highly placed on the Green…

Government announcements today have been applauded by MERAS, the midwives’ union. However, Co-leader, Jill Ovens, is urging politicians not to stop there. She says the 9.6% increase in the starting salary for Early Childhood Education…