Radiographers prepare to strike

Midcentral Health's medical radiation technologists are preparing to go on strike.

APEX union leader Deborah Powell said 14 district health boards had already been served with strike notices, and MidCentral Health's would be issued soon.

Dr Powell said radiographers had been working harder and had increased productivity levels by 10 to 15 per cent in the 18 months to June last year.

But instead of being rewarded with a pay rise, MidCentral Health was telling them to cut down on their work, she said.

Chief executive Murray Georgel told staff in February that in order to pull back a forecast $9 million deficit, the organisation had to rein in its spending.

"Productivity within the hospital continues to improve, with higher levels of activity across most services," Mr Georgel told staff.

"The costs associated with this activity have exceeded our income. It is imperative that we live within budget."

The board calls it "unfunded overproduction" when staff deal with more sick and injured people than expected when budgets were set.

Dr Powell said reducing activity would mean rationing the diagnostic services radiographers provided for the 80 per cent of people who turned up at hospitals needing X-rays, scans or other procedures before they could be treated.

"If they don't want us to be so productive, they should tell us what they want us to stop doing.

"If overproduction is a problem for them, they should stop hiding it from the public, and tell us if they want us to cut the number of CT scans that get done and create longer waiting lists."

The radiographers have asked for a 3 per cent pay increase. Dr Powell said they had been offered nothing.

Twenty district health boards led by Bay of Plenty chief executive Phil Cammish said boards were "keen" to get a collective agreement everyone could live with.

He said radiographers, with salaries of between $46,000 and $63,000, were well paid compared with other occupational groups with similar levels of qualifications, and that their total claim would increase wage and salary bills for radiographers by 15 per cent.

National contingency plans were in place to cope with industrial action.

The type of action taken by MidCentral Health's 43 union member MRTs was likely to involve overtime bans and working to rule rather than a total walkout.

Dr Powell said the irony was that if MRTs stopped answering phones and doing administrative chores, they could increase the level of services they provided to patients.Mr Georgel said Dr Powell had taken his comments about productivity out of context.

The board was very responsible with its money, he said.

"When we spend $100, we get $110 value for it, but we are still spending more than we have got, and that has to be addressed."

- © Fairfax NZ News