Hospital midwives who are members of the Midwifery Employee Representation and Advisory Services (MERAS) are voting over the next two weeks on an offer from the 20 DHBs to settle their Multi-Employer Collective Agreement (MECA).…

MERAS industrial co-leader Jill Ovens spoke to Karyn Hay on Radio New Zealand about the Nurses strike on 9 June. Jill explained that the majority of midwives are members of MERAS, which is supporting the…

Midwife Pam Colbert has put her skills out for all to see on You Tube. No, not the skill as a midwife but her other skill as a song writer and musician with her band…

MERAS has filed in the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) over the DHBs’ decision to unilaterally exclude general practitioners as a potential comparator in the process to resolve the union’s pay equity claim. MERAS Co-leader (Industrial)…

MERAS Co-Leader Jill Ovens spoke to The Project on 17 February about the need to improve the critical shortage of midwives in New Zealand. https://meras.midwife.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2021/02/Jill-Ovens-The-Project-21-Feb-2021.mp4  

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…