Strike by thousands of junior docs cripples hospitals in NZ

WELLINGTON: Nearly 80 per cent of junior doctors across New Zealand walked off the job at public hospitals yesterday after a breakdown in union talks with the government over working conditions and wages.

The strike spotlights the difficulties Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s government faces in delivering on its promise to pour money into social services and rein in economic inequality when it took office in 2017.

The centre-left government’s traditional union support base says sluggish wage growth and soaring living costs have left workers struggling, with teachers, nurses and court officials taking action last year to demand pay hikes.

“They want to have control over when we work, how we work and where we work,” said Dr Deborah Powell, national secretary of the junior doctors’ union. “We tried to resolve this without a strike but we were left with no choice.”

More than 3,300 governmentemployed junior doctors, of a national tally of 3,700, are staying away from hospitals and clinics after the talks broke down last week.

Some gathered at street corners holding placards calling for better working hours but there were no major demonstrations.

Thousands of surgeries, nonessential appointments, and other services have been cancelled, although emergency and lifesaving services will continue as senior doctors are asked to step in.

Government hospitals asked people to limit visits only to emergencies.

Junior doctors, or resident medical officers, want to stick with existing employment contracts because they say new terms the government proposes would mean longer shifts and allow doctors to be moved to other hospitals without notice.

Their union said it had been in talks with the District Health Board (DHB) for more than a year in which payment for overtime, weekend and night shifts were also discussed.

DHB spokesman Dr Peter Bramley disputed claims that the agency wanted to move doctors around the country at will. — Reuters