Most midwives working on the day of the strike

The New Zealand College of Midwives and midwives union MERAS (Midwifery Employee and Representation Advisory Service) are reassuring pregnant women that most midwives will be working on Thursday.

MERAS spokesperson Caroline Conroy says, “Community LMC midwives are not employees of the DHBs and will working as normal, and most hospital employed midwives are members of MERAS and will be working their rostered shifts that day.”

Ms Conroy adds that from the information MERAS has obtained, most maternity units will not be doing ‘inductions of labour’ or elective caesarean sections on Thursday and some clinics will be cancelled but otherwise maternity services will available as usual.”