Industrial action follows breakdown in pay negotiations
More than 11,500 allied health workers will walk off the job later this month in what is expected to be one of the largest strikes in New Zealand’s public health system.
The Public Service Association (PSA) confirmed on Thursday that its members had voted to strike for 24 hours from midnight on October 23, claiming unsafe staffing levels, heavy workloads, and what they describe as inadequate pay offers.
“The workers, who are PSA members, voted overwhelmingly to take strike action following the failure of Health NZ Te Whatu Ora to table a fair offer after bargaining since June,” PSA national secretary Fleur Fitzsimons said in a statement.
“Health NZ needs to listen to the voice of workers and come back to the bargaining table with an offer that provides for safer staffing levels, ends delays in recruiting new staff, and a better pay offer that reflects their value to the health system.”
The strike coincides with industrial action by 40,000 primary school teachers. Speaking on RNZ Morning Report on Wednesday, Health Minister Simeon Brown said the strikes were "deliberate politicking by our unions".
"It's the unions who are playing politics, it's the union leadership that's playing politics, and the unions are disrupting the care of thousands of patients needing care, disrupting the learning of thousands and thousands of students who are learning in our classrooms," he was quoted .
He said the unions made a choice to strike instead of sitting down to negotiate.
"Hips, knees, and cataract operations are going to be disrupted, all because of a choice by a union, rather than actually working through the issues with their employers."
Allied health workers span more than 60 professions, including physiotherapists, occupational therapists, social workers, anaesthetic technicians, scientists, Māori health specialists, and clinical support workers.
The PSA says the most recent pay offer proposed a 2% rise followed by 1.5% over 30 months, which the it argued amounted to a real-terms pay cut when compared with inflation.
“There are simply not enough health workers to provide the level of care New Zealanders need,” Fitzsimons said. “To make up numbers, staff often have to pull double shifts and work unsustainably long hours.”
PSA vice-president and occupational therapist Dianna Mancer said the action was motivated by patient care as well as staff wellbeing.
“Allied Health staff are deeply concerned about the chronic underfunding of the sector. It puts a lot of pressure on workers, but we’re also worried about the effects of short-staffing and budget cuts on patients.”
