Thousands of Nurses Strike Across New Zealand and California Over Staffing and Safety Concerns

Nurses in New Zealand and California are engaging in strike actions to protest unsafe staffing levels and demand better patient care. In New Zealand, over 37,500 members of the NZ Nurses Organisation plan a two-week partial strike to address chronic short staffing and unsafe patient care conditions, refusing redeployment and extra hours. Meanwhile, in California, approximately 3,100 nurses across six Tenet Healthcare hospitals, including facilities in San Ramon, Modesto, Turlock, Palm Springs, and Joshua Tree, held a one-day strike after months of stalled contract negotiations focused on safer staffing, guaranteed breaks, and resources for patient care. Nurses argue that Tenet prioritizes profits over patient safety, citing loss of experienced staff and inadequate investment in proper staffing. Tenet maintains the hospitals remain operational with qualified replacement nurses and expresses disappointment over the strike, proposing mediation to advance negotiations. Both strikes highlight widespread concerns about healthcare staffing shortages impacting patient safety and nurse working conditions.