DHBS Should Drop ‘Take-It-Or-Leave-It’ Bullying

“Senior Doctors: DHBS Should Drop Bullying ‘Take-It-Or-Leave-It’ Approach To Nurses Negotiations”

“Senior doctors want DHBs to drop their bullying tactic of ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ to their national collective agreement negotiations with the Nurses Organisation and return to the negotiating table with an open mind,” said Mr Ian Powell, Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, today.

“This is a crude attempt to force the Nurses Organisation to accept a proposal that has been overwhelmingly rejected by nurses themselves as inadequate. The DHBs tried a similar aggressive ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ tactic during the senior doctors’ negotiations last March. Senior doctors refused to be bullied then and nurses won’t be bullied now.”

“This tactic is unrealistic and counter-productive. It increases anger and frustration and will most certainly create ill-feeling by nurses towards the DHBs. This had the same effect with senior doctors. It also forces the DHBs into a corner making it more difficult to come out without looking silly.”

“Senior doctors welcome the commitment of nurses to continue to try to negotiate rather than be provoked into taking strike action. If nurses are eventually forced to take strike action in order to achieve meaningful negotiations, then this will be because of the DHBs’ aggressive behaviour.”

“The DHBs have embarked on a high risk strategy of aggression towards nurses which may also snare the government in its tentacles,” concluded Mr Powell.

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