Senior docs and dentists in New Zealand announced their intentions to strike Monday following unsuccessful pay negotiations with New Zealand’s public well being company, Te Whatu Ora Well being New Zealand. This may mark the primary time that the union representing senior medical officers, the Affiliation of Salaried Medical Specialists, has gone on strike.
In a press launch, the Affiliation of Salaried Medical Specialists said that 80 % of their members voted in favor of the strike after negotiations for an adjusted pay price failed between the affiliation and Te Whatu Ora. The affiliation claimed that their request comes after two years of “actual pay cuts,” amounting to an 11 % lower in real-term pay for senior medical officers.
Govt director of the affiliation Sarah Dalton said:
Te Whatu Ora is not going to even pay senior docs and dentists the naked minimal to make sure their workers don’t take a real-terms pay reduce for the third 12 months in a row. Each worker in New Zealand deserves to have the worth of their revenue maintained, particularly when they’re performing essential front-line duties and being requested to cowl as many staffing shortages as our docs at the moment are.
President of the affiliation Julian Vyas joined Dalton’s considerations, including that continued underfunding could exacerbate understaffing points within the professions. Vyas mentioned that affiliation members have persistently warned of overwork and burnout amidst a “essential scarcity of senior dentists and docs.” Vyas mentioned the real-term pay cuts have compelled many to think about leaving the general public well being sector.
Speaking to reporters, New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins urged the affiliation to return to negotiations. He mentioned, “We do worth the work that our senior docs do,” and continued, “I don’t need to see any of our medical workforce on strike and I feel one of the best ways to resolve these points is across the bargaining desk.” Te Whatu Ora echoed Hipkins’ appreciation for senior docs and dentists, stating, “We all know our workforce is underneath strain and addressing this throughout the well being sector is high precedence.”
Based on info obtained from Te Whatu Ora by Radio New Zealand, senior medical officers in New Zealand at the moment obtain as much as $318,000 per 12 months, with the common base wage coming in at round $238,500, excluding “extra wage funds and superannuation.” Te Whatu Ora has supplied a pay improve for the 12 months 2024 amounting to someplace between $15,000 and $26,000, with an extra lump sum fee of $4,000.
Nevertheless, in a Tuesday press launch, Dalton disputed the figures. She said that 2022 salaries for senior medical officers ranged from $219,992 to $235,337. She additionally said that Te Whatu Ora by no means supplied the affiliation a $26,000 pay improve. “Their figures about common earnings of a senior physician, pay will increase they declare to offer and variety of new senior docs they’ve recruited are onerous to fathom, information to us and haven’t been mentioned throughout bargaining,” mentioned Dalton.
New Zealand is at the moment experiencing a cost of living crisis, which has drawn different professions to go on strike as properly. Most lately, highschool lecturers went on their first ever strike after negotiations with the Ministry of Training fell by. The strike was finally resolved by an August collective settlement.
The strike will happen over the course of two to 4 hours on September 5, 13 and 21.
