Nurses, midwives and health care assistants have voted to take the latest offer from District Health Boards.
It comes after the nurses' union New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) recommended the latest offer be taken by members, bringing an end to nearly a year of negotiations.
The latest offer didn’t offer more money, but brought the timeline for pay rises forward and strengthened provisions for safe staffing.
Cee Payne of NZNO said a "significant" majority of the 30,000 NZNO DHB members voted in favour of taking the offer in an online ballot.
The majority of the union’s 30,000 members accepted the proposal, which offers pay rises earlier, and new staff.
Thousands of nurses took to the streets last month, calling for better conditions and pay.
On July 27, Health Minister David Clark offered a joint agreement to ensure hospitals have safe nurse staffing levels, and said it is "clear we've been asking too much of our nurses and their workloads are not sustainable".
NZNO president Grant Brookes said he was proud of his members for driving up "investment in the public health system and workforce".
He confirmed NZNO will with urgency work with the DHBs on implementation.
“Immediate attention to improving safe staffing with complete implementation of CCDM by 2021 will address longstanding issues of work load and working conditions which, have negatively affected the quality of care nurses provide and the morale of nursing teams."
David Clark said he will be requiring DHBs to “make good” on all staffing commitments.
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