Senior doctors’ union to issue stop-work notices to discuss strike action

Senior salaried doctors and dentists in New Zealand are set to shortly hold stop-work meetings to discuss potential strike action.

The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS) communicated this to its members on Thursday via a newsletter, after its national executive “unanimously rejected” a recent salary offer by Te Whatu Ora, which “fell far below what is necessary”.

The union planned to run virtual stop-work meetings in the first week of August, followed by face-to-face meetings from August 7-14, to discuss an industrial campaign and poll members ahead of a formal ballot for industrial action.

Te Whatu Ora offered $4000​ on pay rates from April, and a 3%​ increase from October, which would have been an annualised increase of about 3%​ for most members, the newsletter stated.

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By comparison, ASMS’ claim would have delivered a 7-8%​ increase across 12 months; added a new salary step to provide progression for those at the top pay step; and remove the bottom step to address a salary overlap between advanced trainees and early-career senior medical officers (SMOs), it said.

The newsletter, jointly signed by executive director Sarah Dalton​ and president Dr Julian Vyas​, said SMO salaries have gone backwards since the onset of the pandemic due to rising costs of living, and that workforce levels would only be addressed when work is “appropriately supported and remunerated”.

“New Zealand needs to retain its specialist, medical workforce, and a key measure to do so is to ensure staff are well paid. A failure to keep our specialists in the public sector may jeopardise the viability of the health service itself,” it said.

Vyas told Stuff that senior medical officers and dentists felt tired and burnt out.

There had been a loss of goodwill, with the union saying the “same things” to officials “year in and year out… and we’re not being heard”, Vyas said.

The suggestion to issue stop-work notices and hold potential strike action was not something taken lightly, he said.

“We really feel we’ve got no choice, because just pointing out these things has not resulted in change.”

Vyas said it was critical we get more people into the health workforce, and retain them – which their pay-claim would not be a “magic wand” for, but would go “some way towards”.

“This is not to punch the Government on the nose, this is to show our concerns about our terms of working.”

Vyas said members last year agreed to a pay settlement that did not match CPI (the consumer price index), and that everyone deserved to have a job that kept up with the cost of living.

Comments provided to Stuff from union members, via ASMS, showed support for stop-work action.

One said they felt the Government had treated them with disdain, and did not believe they would come to the party without strike action being taken.

Another said New Zealand’s health system was on the brink of collapse, and there was a moral obligation to defend it – even if that meant striking.

Approximately 5000 healthcare workers fall under the multi-employment collective agreement.

Te Whatu Ora chief people officer Andrew Slater​ said it recognised and appreciated the work that senior doctors do, despite the challenges and pressures they face every working day.

“We acknowledge that this pressure has been sustained for a period of time owing to a number of factors, such as the effects of the pandemic, staff sickness, continuing increases in the need for and the complexity of care, and difficulty in recruiting people to fill vacancies amidst a global shortage of healthcare workers.”

Slater said “good faith obligations” meant they would not comment on the specifics of ongoing negotiations at this time.

He said Te Whatu Ora agreed with ASMS that until they had considered and responded to the latest offer they would not commit to further bargaining dates, however, “following ASMS feedback on the offer, Te Whatu Ora is committed to ongoing discussions”.