Health workers strike
Health workers responsible for a range of therapies to help sick, injured and disabled patients live full lives braved the rain outside Palmerston North Hospital yesterday morning while on a one-day strike.
Delegate for the PSA union that represents the allied health workers, Diana Mercer, said it had been 18 months since the workers had started bargaining for a better deal.
In that time, their pay and conditions had only become relatively more desperate.
Mercer, who is an occupational therapist with 26 years experience, said a new graduate in her field would start work in Australia on better pay than she received in New Zealand.
She said she received an invitation to apply for a job in Australia in the past few days, and it was tempting.
She could see why young allied health workers would want to go, and even experienced staff were leaving, she said.
It was unlikely the opening of New Zealand’s borders would see an influx of staff to balance the losses, she said.
Some workers from 70 occupations represented by the union were on pay rates that had fallen below the living wage, despite their years of training.
Mercer said many of the members were working in areas where there were staff shortages and vacancies, and they had worked through the pandemic, and were exhausted and on pay rates that lagged behind ‘‘skyrocketing’’ living costs.
Many had taken on second jobs to help balance their household budgets, she said.
‘‘I don’t know a health worker who wants to be on strike, but they have left us with no alternatives.’’
The union members would be working to rule from today, working only their contracted hours, and taking their breaks.
The union and employers had worked with an Employment Relations Authority facilitator to design a recommendation for union members to consider, but that was not the offer put forward on Friday after intervention from the Ministry of Health.
MidCentral executive director for allied health Gabrielle Scott said the district health board respected the staff’s right to strike. ‘‘Today [Monday] went as we expected for services, and our team worked hard to ensure our acute patients’ care continued as needed.’’