Minister of Health must take the blame for strike

Minister of Health must take the blame for radiographers strike

Minister of Health Tony Ryall must take at least some of the blame for the radiographers’ strike that will this weekend affect hundreds of patients, Labour Health spokesperson Ruth Dyson says.

“Minister of Health Tony Ryall has openly claimed that he is making $700 million of cuts to backroom services and reinvesting them in the frontline. His Government has also said it wants wages to catchup with those in Australia, so of course unions are going to ask for a wage increase,” Ruth Dyson said.

“The reality is the Minister has completely overstated the amount of savings he has made, and his Government clearly has no intention of having wages catch-up with those in Australia.

“Mr Ryall and the National Government need to come clean with the union representing radiographers about these facts.

“National campaigned on giving health workers a greater say in the running of health services, investing savings made from cutting backroom services into the frontline and putting programmes in place to have wages in New Zealand catch-up with those in Australia.

“Essentially the union representing radiographers is simply asking the National Government to live up to its election promises.

“Why if the Minister is making $700 million in savings from cutting backroom services, as he has claimed, is there no money to settle industrial disputes?

“The Minister of Health and National Government has run a deliberate campaign of misleading health workers and the public about their intentions and as a result patients will this weekend miss out on vital services.

“This industrial action could likely have been averted if the Minister had not lied about savings that could be reinvested in the frontline. Because what are radiographers if they are not frontline workers?

“Patients deserve better than the programme of health cuts and industrial action that has resulted from National’s poor handling of the health sector,” Ruth Dyson said.

ENDS