Source: Radio New Zealand
The agreement covers pay and conditions for pharmacists, pharmacy assistants and technicians. 123RF
Pharmacists and Health New Zealand have reached an agreement on pay and conditions, with members of the union voting to accept HNZ’s latest offer.
Pharmacy Association of Professionals and Executive Employees (APEX) members – which include pharmacists, pharmacy assistants and technicians – will receive a 2.5 percent salary increase from January 2026, and a two percent increase in 2027.
HNZ spokesperson Robyn Shearer said the health agency welcomed the decision, which would affect about 300 workers.
“We would like to acknowledge and thank APEX for its commitment to reaching this settlement.”
APEX represents pharmacy workers employed across Aotearoa, including those working for Te Whatu Ora and in private practice.
Senior advocate Denise Tairua told RNZ they began bargaining in mid-October, prior to their old agreement expiring in November.
“There’s a month between expiry and commencement,” she said. “It was an issue for the members, however, given some of the other things and improvements, it was a small timeframe not to receive back-dating.”
Other benefits included an increase in HNZ’s contribution to membership fees. It had been a longstanding practice for HNZ to cover less than the full cost of membership fees for various professional associations required for their work.
Those fees ranged from $200 to $500 annually, she said.
“There’s been a slight uplift in those, getting [HNZ’s contribution] nearer to that 80 percent.”
A pharmacy engagement group had also been formed, which would look at longstanding issues around safe staffing, monitoring the use of professional development funds, and the duration and frequency of on-call periods.
The bar for ratification was to exceed 50 percent. “We did have quite a good turnout, so a high percentage of members voted to ratify this agreement.”
“We’re quite pleased that this one didn’t drag on,” Tairua said. “What’s really important will be work we can do within the engagement group to look at longstanding issues.”
Earlier this month, the union also reached a settlement for its psychologists, with similar pay increases to the pharmacy agreement, affecting 670 workers.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
