NDAs scrapped because purpose 'no longer applies,' reports say
Health New Zealand has scrapped the non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) that gagged 67 employees at the organisation following backlash from critics, according to reports.
Health Minister Shane Reti confirmed that employees who had signed the NDAs relating to financial pressures have been released from the agreement as of the end of last week.
According to Reti, the NDAs have been lifted as the "purpose for which they were used no longer applies," the New Zealand Herald reported.
Health NZ chief executive Margie Apa also told the Herald that the agreements "have been lifted because they are no longer required."
She added that they acknowledge that "improvements can be made in how such agreements are managed."
"Such agreements do have a place, such as commercially sensitive procurement programmes and infrastructure projects involving confidential design elements. Some agreements remain in place for such reasons," Apa said as quoted by the Herald.
Backlash against NDAs
The lifting of the NDAs comes after Apa said last week that they are reviewing the NDA policy.
Apa previously defended the NDAs as an added protection "for confidentiality, given the importance of robustly understanding the extent of the financial situation."
In Parliament last week, the chief executive even said imposing the NDAs among the senior managers who were involved in budgets was "not unusual."
Health NZ drew backlash from the opposition after it was discovered that 67 employees had been asked to sign NDAs.
Ayesha Verrall, Labour's health spokesperson, said she thinks the lifting of the NDAs was a "direct response" to the complaint she filed to the Public Service Commission on the issue.
According to Verrall, she hoped the government learned about the "inappropriate nature of NDAs in public service organisations."