News
Media Statements
15 July 2007
Senior doctors hold stopwork meetings around country
For the first time ever, senior doctors around the country will be holding stopwork meetings after a year of unsuccessful negotiations over pay and conditions.
Association of Salaried Medical Specialists Executive Director Ian Powell says the issue needs resolving.
“Our hospital system is creaking at the seams because of problems over recruiting and retaining senior doctors who are crucial to providing these services,” says Ian Powell.
He says there is fierce international competition for senior doctors and we have to be competitive. At a bare minimum
“Senior doctors are seeing
Ian Powell says ASMS, the senior doctors’ union, has tried to work through the issues responsibly with the DHBs. The 26 stopwork meetings around the country will give members the opportunity to discuss the next step.
“The negotiations have been very difficult and for the first time ever we have seen the need to hold stopwork meetings to discuss where to go from here. We have taken this decision very reluctantly but it is the only action left to us.”
Ian Powell says that the union has deliberately given the DHBs much more notice of the meetings than legally required so they can make minimise inconvenience to patients.
“Ensuring patient safety is essential to our members and our members will continue to provide acute and emergency cover during the two hour meetings.”
ASMS is asking for a two year agreement with a salary rise of 6-7 percent in the first year and half of that in the second year. It also wants an increase in expenses for senior doctors’ continuing education and an increase in the pay rates for on-call work.
“Our claims are modest and fair. To put them in perspective, DHB Chief Executives’ salaries on average have increased by 4.12 percent, 7.12 percent and 6.9 percent in the three years from 2003 to 2006,” says Ian Powell
The DHBs are offering a 46-month agreement, with an annualised increase of around 3.8%.
“That is not sufficient to recruit and retain staff and we are concerned about the impact on our hospitals if we can’t get and keep quality senior doctors,” says Ian Powell
Ian Powell
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Attached is a list of stopwork meetings being held around the country.
