Waikato DHB staff strike for fair pay

Clerical and administrative staff employed by the Waikato District Health Board begin two days of strike action at 7am tomorrow (Tuesday, 12 April 2005).

The workers, members of the Public Service Association (PSA), are seeking a fair pay offer commensurate with the 3 per cent deal already settled for other staff working for the DHB. The WDHB has offered clerical and admin staff a 3 per cent offer through to 31 December 2005, but because it is backdated to 1 October 2004 rather than to the date when the agreement expired, it would only equate to a 1.75 per cent increase over the period.

PSA advocate for the negotiations, Linda Holt, says the union has today lodged notice of a further three days of strike action in a fortnight to underline how seriously members feel about the WDHB’s inequitable pay offer.

“Clerical and administrative staff are worth more than 1.75 percent. The WDHB’s pay offer is less than the rate of inflation and almost half that already settled with other workers at the hospital for a shorter period of time.

“Our members are reluctantly withdrawing their labour tomorrow and on Wednesday because the WDHB is refusing to make them a fair pay offer.

“PSA members will be gathering outside the main gates of Waikato Hospital from 7am tomorrow and they will be addressed by PSA National President Keith Gutsell at 11am.

“The PSA has agreed to contingency plans to ensure life saving procedures will still be available from Waikato Hospital, but we expect our action to impact on a wide range of normal services.

“This includes the processing of pay for other WDHB workers. This will delay the pay jolt recently agreed with nurses working for the hospital. It is deeply ironic that as the WDHB moves to implement a major wage settlement that will close the gender pay gap for one group of its workers it continues to refuse to make a fair pay offer to another female dominated group of its employees,” Linda Holt said.

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