Pay A Huge Issue For Resident Doctors - STONZ

Resident doctors’ Union - Specialty Trainees of New Zealand (STONZ) - supports the industrial action being taken by senior doctors to strike and will be arguing for a significant pay rise for resident doctors in their own upcoming bargaining with Te Whatu Ora.

STONZ President and resident doctor Christina Matthews says her members have seen their pay fall and their hours rise consistently for the last decade.

“In the last ten years resident doctor’s pay has fallen by more than 17% in real terms while their hours have increased significantly. It’s unsustainable and it is putting pressure on doctors to leave New Zealand’s health system.

“We were stoked to see Te Whatu Ora nurses finally get the pay that they deserve through the equity process. Now we’re expecting the same responsiveness from the government on our pay issues given resident doctors - the majority of whom are women - are now paid less per hour than nurses at every single grade.”

STONZ Vice President and resident doctor Jordan Tewhaiti-Smith agrees. “We have been talking with the government about this issue and what the solutions are for the past year and working closely with Te Whatu Ora on workforce strategy.

“Both the Minister and Te Whatu Ora have publicly indicated they understand how bad things have got for resident doctors. We’re hoping that their recognition of this issue and the good faith we have shown in working with them to fix systemic problems will be reflected in the coming negotiations.”

STONZ is run by frontline resident doctors and advocates for the long-term benefit of its members, their patients, and New Zealand’s health system.

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