Auckland DHBs’ Proposal to Avert Strike Action

Auckland DHBs’ Proposal to Avert Strike Action

The three Auckland DHBs have today filed papers with the Employment Relations Authority seeking facilitation of the protracted and difficult bargaining dispute with the PSA for Allied, Public Health and Technical employees.

Since early last year, the three Auckland DHBs have been in negotiations with the PSA for a collective agreement covering around 3,000 staff in a range of clinical and clinical-support roles.

Extensive efforts have been made to resolve the outstanding issue of the appropriate weekend penal rate. The current collective agreement provides for double time for “ordinary” hours worked after midday on Saturday and all day Sunday.

This compares to the standard time-and-a-half rate that applies to around 85% of collectivised DHB employees nationally for weekend work. The DHBs have proposed a number of potential ways to manage what it considers is the necessary alignment of weekend rates with the majority of other DHB groups. This alignment would enable extended services to support improved patient outcomes.

“The three DHBs’ application for facilitation reflects the commitment to resolve this protracted bargaining and ultimately deliver pay increases to PSA members,” said Julie Patterson, Chair of the DHBs’ Workforce Strategy and Employment Relations Strategy Groups and Chief Executive of Whanganui DHB.

The DHBs invited the PSA to support seeking the Authority’s assistance to resolve this issue and conclude a collective agreement.

“We are very disappointed that the union has refused to support the application,” said Mrs Patterson. “We consider that facilitation provides the best way forward to resolve this bargaining.

“It is clear that the planned strike action the PSA has balloted for is not in the public interest and will not help resolve negotiations. It will only serve to underscore the need for an alternate pathway.

“Their previous strike action in November had no effect on the bargaining, five months later the same issue is still unresolved. It is clear that further strike action will have no impact on the bargaining, it will only result in disruption and stress to patients and their families and whanau, create tensions within teams of health professionals, and loss of pay for the strikers.”

The DHBs urge the PSA to reconsider its position on facilitation and to refrain from issuing any strike notices while the application is heard. The DHBs know that strike action in the health sector is always stressful and acknowledge that it is not something that health professionals consider lightly.

“The DHBs’ proposal for facilitation would avoid the need for members to go on strike and would seek the guidance of an independent body on how to resolve this dispute. Facilitation is the best way forward,” said Mrs Patterson.

“The PSA needs to explain why they are putting the public, health professionals, and their own members through such unnecessary disruption.”

KEY FACTS

• The three Auckland metropolitan DHBs employ around 3,000 full-time equivalent staff who are covered by this bargaining with an annual payroll of around $220m.

• Almost one-in-three allied staff work weekends as part of their 'ordinary' hours and get paid double time.

• The majority of Nurses and Allied staff employed by the 17 DHBs in the rest of the country get paid time-and-a-half for working weekends.

• The three Auckland DHBs spend roughly $4m p.a. on this double time weekend premium.

• In December, the DHBs offered a 4% base increase to pay rates over 23 months – this was rejected by union members.

• The three Auckland DHBs have collectively had an increase in their funding of approximately $1 billion over the last 7 years.

Issued on behalf of the Auckland DHBs by Mick Prior, General Manager, Strategic Workforce Services for the 20 DHBs.

ENDS

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