“Senior doctors employed by district health boards have overwhelmingly voted to ratify their first national collective agreement since 1992,” said Mr Ian Powell, Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, today.  The national agreement will run until 30 June 2006.

“The vote in favour of acceptance of the proposed national agreement was a massive 98% with majorities in all the affected district health boards.  It follows difficult marathon negotiations which commenced in late April 2003 and, since October last year, involved an independent mediator.”

“We hope that the improvements in key employment conditions provide a stronger basis for recruitment and retention to help address New Zealand’s present unacceptable level of senior doctor shortages.  These improvements include new salary scales, subsidised superannuation, annual leave, and remuneration for working on after-hours emergency rosters.  The fragmentation of employment conditions for over a decade has been unhelpful for recruitment and retention.”

“The new national agreement is also based on empowering senior doctors to have greater influence over their working conditions, at their workplaces and within their district health boards.  The best way to ensure that health services are well planned and well delivered, and that best use is made of health funding, is to allow senior doctors into the engine-room of decision-making.”

“In the 1990s senior doctors were denied the right to a national collective agreement because of the restrictive and unfair Employment Contracts Act which fortunately has been repealed.  We acknowledge that we could not have negotiated this first national agreement for senior doctors for over 10 years without the much fairer and practical Employment Relations Act of the current government.”