Doctors’ second ward walkout imminent

The first strike hasn’t happened yet but members of the largest junior doctors’ union have already voted to strike for a second time at the end of the month.

In a shock move, the New Zealand Resident Doctors’ Association (NZRDA) announced yesterday it would undertake a second round of industrial action on January 29 and 30.

The development showed the growing disharmony between NZRDA and the country’s district health boards (DHBs), which have been locked in an almost year-long battle over the terms of the doctors’ collective agreement.

Two days of mediated bargaining which ended on Thursday failed to see the two parties come together, meaning at least 2000 doctors will walk off the wards in the first 48-hour strike at 7am on Tuesday.

NZRDA senior advocate David Munro was among those negotiating and described the discussions as ‘‘unpleasant’’.

‘‘I have been an industrial advocate for 30 years and [the talks] were amongst the least friendly and least productive negotiations I have experienced. It’s not good at this stage,’’ Munro said.

The stumbling blocks appear to revolve around doctor rostering, pay, training and work conditions outlined in the multi-employer collective agreement (MECA).

‘‘We will settle at some stage, but it’s not going to be with the [resident medical officers (RMO)/junior doctors] backing down and having a whole lot of things taken out.

‘‘At some stage, the DHBs will have to come back to the table, settle and understand that the determination is unwavering. They need to modify their position accordingly and hopefully we’ll get somewhere.

‘‘Unlike any other group in the health sector bargaining at the moment, we’re facing a lot of clawbacks . . . that’s to provisions in our collective agreement that protect RMOs in some very important areas,’’ Munro said.

One of those provisions under threat is that junior doctors can’t be asked to work more than 16 hours by a DHB without agreement from the union, he said.

DHB spokesman Dr Peter Bramley disputed NZRDA’s view of negotiations, saying DHBs wanted to ensure junior doctors were involved in decisions regarding their rosters and work placements.

‘‘It is simply untrue for the [NZRDA] to claim that DHBs want to move [junior doctors] around the country at will.’’

Bramley said DHBs were planning for the doctors’ two-day exodus from the wards.

‘‘I have been an industrial advocate for 30 years and [the talks] were amongst the least friendly and least productive negotiations I have experienced.’’

NZRDA senior advocate David Munro