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Yesterday's last-ditch effort to negotiate an improved pay deal for district health board nurses was unsuccessful and mediation is now being sought.

The meeting followed more than 80 per cent of nurses voting to reject the DHBs offer during a series of ratification meetings held by the New Zealand Nurses Organisation in public hospitals around the country this month.

Lesley Harry, NZNO industrial advisor said yesterday's meeting with the 20 DHBs negotiating team  was held to provide feedback to the DHBs on the main reasons for the initial multi-employer collective agreement (MECA) deal being rejected and attempt to negotiate an improved offer.

"There was real efforts on both sides to try and get something stitched together that we could take back to our members and recommend but we haven't got there yet," said Harry today.

She said the parties were now in the process of organising mediation through the Ministry of Business and Innovation to try and help the parties work through their impasse.  "There are still outstanding issues that we need some assistance with," said Harry. 

A likely date for the mediation will be mid-June.

The DHB MECA deal was for a three-year contract and included a pay offer of 1% this year and 2% in subsequent years.  The pay offer is understood to be a major factor in the deal being rejected along with consistent access to discretionary leave.