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Hospital Admin Staff Strike Called Off
PSA MEDIA RELEASE
Friday June 1, 2007
For Immediate
Use
Hospital Admin Staff Strike Called Off After
Better Pay Offer Received
A two day strike, by
administration staff working in public hospitals
in
Wellington, Wanganui and Taranaki, has been called
off, after the boards
improved their pay offers.
The
administration staff work for Capital and Coast, Whanganui
and Taranaki
District Health Boards.
They
include medical typists who type up doctor's notes. Booking
clerks
involved in booking patients appointments with
specialists and for surgery.
And clinical coders who
maintain the flow of money from the Ministry of
Health to
hospitals for surgery and other procedures.
"The admin
staff's negotiating team has withdrawn the notice of a two
day
strike, after the boards increased their pay offers,"
says Margaret Takoko,
an organiser with the PSA, which
represents 505 administration staff at the
three
boards.
The improved offers were made during a mediation
hearing involving the
staff's PSA-led negotiating team
and the three boards.
"The admin staff on the negotiating
team are pleased the board's have
acknowledged the
importance of the work they, and their colleagues do,
by
upping their offers," says Margaret Takoko.
The
staff rejected pay offers that were below the level of
inflation, which
is currently running at 2.5% a year. As
a result of the mediation, Capital
and Coast increased
its offer from a 4.4% pay increase, over two years, to
a
4.9% rise. Taranaki increased its offer from 4.64%,
over two years, to 5.4%.
And Whanganui's offer rose from
4.74% to 5.4%, over two years.
Margaret Takoko says the
admin staff have been negotiating since July last
year to
renew their collective agreement.
"After negotiating for
almost a year, we're pleased with the outcome of
the
mediation and the improved offers," says Margaret
Takoko.
She says meetings will be held next week at which
the admin staff will vote
whether to accept the new
offers. The PSA-led negotiating team are
recommending
they accept the improved offers. The results of the votes
will
be know by the end of next week (Friday June
8)
ends
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