Ross Wilson, Dominion Post column, 19 Feb 2007

The new year started off with a lot of publicity about strikes by radiation therapists and laboratory workers in the health sector. Even Bishop Randerson waded into the debate. I thought I would take this opportunity to put a union view on what became an understandably emotional issue.

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National & Labour led governments have for more than 15 years provided the right to strike and lockout as the sole final means of resolving bargaining differences.

The right to strike is a human right guaranteed by international law to all workers, is generally reflected in the laws of democratic countries, and is exercised by health professionals in accordance with the ethical standards of their professional and international organisations.

But I know that health workers, whether they are nurses, doctors or service workers, only exercise that right with the greatest reluctance, and remain available during strikes or lockouts to provide vital services.

That is why the CTU unions voluntarily negotiated a code of good faith for the health sector in 2003, which provides a process (with independent arbitration if necessary) to ensure that life preserving services are provided. This voluntary code was then translated into law, and became legally enforceable, in 2004.

It is vital that the health unions act to ensure that the salaries and conditions of employment in the health sector are good enough to attract people into these essential services. The real threat to patient safety over the past decade has been the under-funding which, for example resulted in the crisis situation in Christchurch hospital in the mid 1990s, and the downward pressure on salaries which has caused the serious staff shortages which only the union  bargaining settlements of the past few years have started to address.

And it is ironic that on one occasion when staffing levels could not be agreed during a mental health workers strike the independent  clinical adjudicator appointed under the voluntary code required more staff on the night shift than the DHB employer had agreed to as normal staffing.

Yet the finger tends to be pointed at the striking health workers when they have to resort to exercising the right to strike. In fact this is the only option the law provides when a settlement cannot be reached with their employers. Calls for a ban on strike action unfairly imply that the breakdown of negotiations is always the fault of health workers rather than the employer.

Recent experience tends to mask the fact that union collective bargaining in the health sector since the Employment Relations Act came into effect in 2000 has been very positive overall. The development of national collective agreements covering all District Health Boards has provided a framework within which national professional health services  and standards, as well as conditions of employment, can be rebuilt. With improvement in morale and salaries it is very encouraging to once again see an influx of young people into nursing training and other health professional occupations..  

The agreement of a new national collective agreement late last year for nurses  in primary health care was also a very positive development.

But there are still large groups of workers in the health sector who are poorly paid despite the essential role that they play. These include service and admin workers in the hospitals as well as health workers in the government funded age and disability care sectors.

The Service and Food Workers Union is currently trying to negotiate a national collective agreement covering service workers in hospitals which would be a positive development in providing a sustainable framework within which generally poor conditions of employment, and other issues such as training and quality, can be addressed over time.

Although the Government itself is supportive of the service workers claim for a national collective agreement it is still being resisted by employers in the sector. I have spoken directly to the representative group of negotiators for the service workers and they are committed to achieving a national agreement. They have the full support of the CTU.

Once again another group of health sector workers is having to consider resorting to their legal right to strike.

But there is also a lot of positive work and last Friday the CTU health unions sat down with representatives of the District Health Boards and employers in the age care and disability sector sector to address the low pay crisis in that sector.

So although the public only generally see the strikes, the building of better conditions of employment in the health sector has, and undoubtedly will continue, to improve the quality of services for all New Zealanders.