Senior Doctors Negotiations Go To Mediation

MEDIA STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE,
THURSDAY 9 OCTOBER 2003

“Senior Doctors Negotiations Go To Mediation”

“Senior doctors have referred their negotiations for a national collective agreement covering district health boards to mediation,” said Mr Ian Powell, Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, today. The district health boards have also agreed to mediation, which will commence on 22-23 October.

“Negotiations commenced on 29 April and, despite some early useful progress, came close to collapsing in late September. While a collapse has been, for the moment, averted, progress is too slow and the gap between the parties remains large. There is now a need for third party advice and guidance to both avoid collapse and reach a settlement.”

“Senior doctors believe that district health board managers are out-of-touch with what is required to ensure an effective recruitment and retention strategy for senior doctors, particularly in light of the competitive international market.”

“We always thought that negotiating the first national collective agreement for a decade would be difficult after 10 years of fragmentation but we are disappointed with the lack of progress to date,” concluded Mr Powell.

Ian Powell

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

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