Thousands of senior medical doctors have voted to go on strike for 24 hours over pay at the beginning of next month in a move the Health Minister has called “deeply disappointing” and “failing patients”.
The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists union said its 5500 members would go on strike on May 1.
Executive director Sarah Dalton said the planned 24-hour strike was “huge”.
In the last round of pay negotiations in 2023, members took took two strikes – one for two hours, one for four hours.
“A 24 hour strike is unprecedented, but we’re really stuck,” she said.
Dalton said the union’s collective agreement with Health NZ Te Whatu Ora expired last August, and the ASMS had lodged a claim for 12% pay increase, along with an increase to continued medical education and shortages allowances.
Te Whatu Ora had indicated their total offer would only come to about 1 to 1.5% of total salary costs.
“So effectively, what they’re offering is a real-terms pay cut, not keeping track with CPI even, and basically telling senior doctors ‘we’re not that bothered’,” Dalton said.
The ASMS represent senior medical doctors, or SMOs. Dalton says these are the specialists that people see when they go to a hospital appointment: “Anaesthetists, surgeons, physicians, paediatricians, radiologists.”
Asked how senior medical doctors were feeling, Dalton said they were “angry, fed up, tired, and unheard”.
Appointments could be cancelled – Health NZ, minister
Health NZ chief clinical officer Dr Richard Sullivan said the strike action could cause the cancellation of around 4300 planned care procedures or first specialist appointments.
“In addition, 3000-4300 radiology (including MRI/CT/Ultrasound) procedures would need to be postponed.”
However, Health Minister Simeon Brown was more definitive, saying the planned care procedures, first specialist appointments and radiology procedures would be cancelled due to the strike.
He added that critical procedures booked before might also be affected.
“The ripple effects will last well beyond May 1.”
Brown said senior doctors were “well supported”, receiving an average total remuneration of $343,500; six weeks of annual leave, plus two more for conferences and training; fully-paid three-month sabbaticals every six years; and reimbursement for medical licences, college memberships and insurance.
“Striking won’t shorten waitlists. Walking off the job won’t fix system pressure. But it will delay care for thousands of New Zealanders who’ve already waited too long.”
Sullivan said Health NZ believed proposals presented in bargaining to date were fair “given the current economic situation”.
