Hospital workers strike to protest pay parity

JOHN HAWKINS/151054

TAKING ACTION: Southland Hospital clerical and administration staff took strike action yesterday calling for more pay. They are (left to right) Helen Phillips, Owen Collinson, Betty Henry, Jeremy Andrews and Lorraine Ker.

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Southland hospital workers went on strike yesterday to protest the pay disparity that exists between them and workers who do the same job in the North Island.

Clerical and administrative workers throughout the South Island walked off the job for one hour after pay negotiations between their union, the Public Service Association, and their employer District Health Boards New Zealand broke down.

The more than 20 workers picketing outside Southland Hospital said they felt undervalued and underpaid for the work they did, which was vital for the proper functioning of the hospital.

Southland union organiser Rex Askerud said the workers had been due for a pay increase this year but because of the recession they had been subject to a pay freeze.

Clerical PSA delegate at Southland Hospital Kim Drain said the workers wanted "equal pay for equal work".

"We're asking to be put on the same pay as our North Island colleagues. While our workload has actually increased, we've had a pay freeze," she said.

Southland District Health Board chief operating officer Lexie O'Shea said contingency plans, including moving staff around Southland Hospital to cover shortfalls, meant the industrial action had had minimal impact on the hospital.

Twenty four people, out of a team of 160, were involved in the strike, she said. PSA Assistant National Secretary Warwick Jones said there was likely to be more strike action in the next few weeks.

District Health Boards New Zealand was unavailable for comment.

About 800 telephonists, ward clerks, medical record clerks, medical secretaries, booking clerks and clinical coders throughout the South Island were thought to have taken part in today's strike.

South Island workers in these jobs are subject to a collective employment agreement that is different from those in the North Island, who settled a pay agreement last year.

matthew.theunissen@stl.co.nz

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