Health workers strikes continue

TV one reports that more than 500 public health professionals walked off the job at Counties Manukau District Health Board today to protest against an over-stretched workforce unable to meet patient’s needs. Their action joins that of 1000 colleagues at the Waitemata DHB and Auckland DHB who walked off the job earlier in the week.

Non-nursing and non-medical staff members of the Public Service Association (PSA), including social workers, physiotherapist and scientists went on strike for two hours.

500 staff joined two protests at Middlemore and Whirinaki Hospitals, with other staff striking at smaller worksites.

The PSA represents 1000 staff affected by the strike in the Counties Manukau DHB but the union ensured enough staff stayed back to maintain life preserving services and to minimise disruption to patients.

Simon Oosterman, organiser with the Public Service Association (PSA) says staff are disappointed to hear the DHBs are saying there isn’t a workload problem.

"We’re happy to go back to bargaining but considering Auckland District Health Boards won’t accept staff are overworked, or that we’ve raised the issue, really goes to the heart of why staff are taking our message to the public," he says.

The union first raised workload issues in 2010 when the Government started their $1.7billion health cuts, he says.

An Auckland DHB internal survey quoted in the Herald on Sunday confirms staff feel overworked, he says.

Andy Colwell, a mental health social worker, says staff are overworked and cutting staff incomes isn’t the solution.

"Hospital staff are already overloaded and a new plan to stretch them across seven day services when we aren’t even funded for five will drive staff to exhaustion," he says. "To rub salt in the wounds, the DHBs wants to thank new staff for going the extra mile by paying them less."

ENDS

© Scoop Media