More than 11,500 Allied Health workers will strike for 24 hours on Thursday 23 October in support of their claim for safe staffing levels and better pay and conditions.
"The workers, who are PSA members, voted overwhelmingly to take strike action following the failure of Health NZ Te Whatu Ora to table a fair offer after bargaining since June. The strike will run from midnight to midnight all over New Zealand," said Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi.
Allied health workers cover over 60 professions that help keep the public health service functioning including social workers, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, scientists, anaesthetic technicians, Māori health specialists, clinical support workers and health assistants (see list of other roles below).
"These are critical health workers who see first-hand how the health system is failing New Zealanders every day - they want to see the Government fund health services properly.
"Health NZ needs to listen to the voice of workers and come back to the bargaining table with an offer that provides for safer staffing levels, ends delays in recruiting new staff, and a better pay offer that reflects their value to the health system."
The pay offer was for a 2% rise then a 1.5% increase over a 30-month term. This is well below inflation and means workers would be taking an effective pay cut.
"There are simply not enough health workers to provide the level of care New Zealanders need, and recruitment is frustratingly slow. To make up numbers, staff often have to pull double shifts and work unsustainably long hours.
"They can't give their best to patients when they're so thinly stretched and burnt out. We can't afford more workers to cross the Tasman and work in a health system there that better values what they do."
PSA vice-president and occupational therapist Dianna Mancer says the industrial action is just as much about patients as it is workers.
"Allied Health staff are deeply concerned about the chronic underfunding of the sector. It puts a lot of pressure on workers, but we're also worried about the effects of short-staffing and budget cuts on patients.
"This offer is not good enough - it doesn't recognise all the work we do under increasingly difficult circumstances. We are standing up for a better healthcare system that properly cares for workers, so we can care for New Zealanders."
PSA delegate and mental health social worker Andy Colwell says the work he and his colleagues does is only getting harder.
"In recent years we've seen an increase in the severity of need in our communities, but very little acknowledgement of the impact of this on staff from Health NZ.
"What we're asking for is a pay offer that at the very least keeps up with the rate of inflation. Our work is challenging, and at the current pay rates, we're losing people to private practice, early retirement, or overseas.
"We need a work environment that is safe in practice so we can provide the best possible service for our communities."
Fleur Fitzsimons said: "By striking, our members are sending a strong message, that they and New Zealanders deserve better."
