ALDEN WILLIAMS/STUFF

Nurses and supporters rally for higher pay and better working conditions at the 'Hear our Voices National March' in Christchurch earlier this year.

Nurses around the country are waiting on a revised offer from district health boards (DHBs) on Monday afternoon that will determine whether the first nationwide strikes in nearly 30 years go ahead.

The New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) revealed on Monday morning its 27,000 members had voted for two days of strikes on July 5 and 12 over pay and staffing concerns.

Bargaining teams for the union and the DHBs will meet from 1pm to discuss the DHBs' revised offer, which is likely to be voted on by union members next week.

The last time nurses took nationwide strike action was in 1989, something the union said pointed to the depth of feeling over the current issues.

READ MORE:
* Nurses decide to strike after union vote among 27,000 members
* Nurses say independent panel 'falls short' - cautiously awaiting new DHB offer
* Independent panel to tackle nurses and DHB stalemate in bid to avoid strike

"It's been close to 30 years since our members have ever taken a vote for national industrial action, and it just shows you the strength of concern that that's where they are right now today," spokeswoman Cee Payne told RNZ.

Opposition leader Simon Bridges has come out in support of the nurses' position, blaming the Government for "ratcheting up expectations".

Strike action could yet be averted depending on the updated DHBs' offer, which is "based on" recommendations put forward last week by an independent panel assembled to resolve the impasse.

The panel recommended the union's 27,000 nurses, midwives and health care assistants get a $2000 lump sump payment and a 3 per cent pay rise on June 1, followed by another 3 per cent rise in August and another in August 2019.

It also recommended a 2 per cent increase in nurse staffing numbers, which is estimated to be an additional 600 full-time equivalent positions around the country.

The union welcomed some of the panel's recommendations, but said at the time it fell short on pay expectations. Payne said it would take an 11 per cent pay hike for nurses to be back on pay parity with secondary teachers.

A nurse with five years' experience earns $66,755, a figure that would go up to $72,944 by August next year under the panel's recommendations.

DHBs spokeswoman Helen Mason said the DHBs'​ offer was based on the recommendations. A first meeting has been held between the parties to begin preparation for industrial action in the event union members again reject the DHBs' offer.

"We respect their right to take industrial action although we hope it won't come to that and we look forward to discussing hte revised offer with them this afternoon," Mason said.

"Nurses, healthcare assistants and midwives are highly respected and essential members of the health team, our offer reflects that and provides a pathway to address their key pay equity and workload issues."

Nurses have rejected two previous offers from the DHBs. The most recent, in March, offered a 2 per cent pay increase from last November, another 2 per cent bump in August, and a $1050 lump sum payment.

The new deal will have to be a good one for nurses to back down.

"Nurses are feeling determined to make a difference this time," Payne told Newshub.

"You don't come this far and want to walk away from it. There has to be some genuine response from the employers."

NZNO chief executive Memo Musa said should the offer be rejected, "full commitment to providing agreed life preserving services will be negotiated. Patient safety is paramount. We will be compliant with the Code of Good Faith for the public health sector."

The last, and possibly only time, nurses held a nationwide strike was in 1989. According to industry publication Nursing Review, it followed a period of high inflation and wage freezes in the 1980s, leading to nurse anger and the "Nurses are worth more" campaign of 1985.

 - Stuff