More than 5000 doctors will strike on May 1, postponing treatment for about 4300 patients.
Last-ditch mediation between Health New Zealand - Te Whatu Ora and the senior doctors’ union has failed to avert an unprecedented 24-hour strike.
Health NZ deputy chief executive Cath Cronin said the agency was “deeply disappointed” that the union had refused to present its latest offer to its members following mediation on Thursday.
“We value our doctors and want to do the best we can for them, but the reality is that Health NZ has limited budget available for salary settlements within its tight financial constraints,” she said.
Health NZ was urgently applying for facilitation, which would “give an independent party the opportunity to hear from both sides and make a recommendation”.
“We believe we have been fair and realistic, including offering to remove the lowest pay steps for senior doctors.”
Cronin said Te Whatu Ora had “heard” the union’s concern regarding growing and retaining the senior doctor workforce.
Under Te Whatu Ora’s new offer, a first-year specialist would receive a $17,700 (9.5%) increase on base salary and a 9.5% increase on other remuneration, including KiwiSaver, and another 6% the following year.
A second-year specialist would receive a $11,800 (6.2%) pay increase on base salary plus 6.2% for KiwiSaver, and another 6% increase in the following year.
All other specialists would have their salaries increased by 3% over two years, with a lump sum payment of $8000 to doctors with three or more years’ experience.
“Additionally, we offered an incentive in ‘hard to recruit’ districts, which will assist in attracting and retaining senior doctors.”
Latest offer ‘worse’ - union
======================
The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists executive director Sarah Dalton said however there was no point taking the offer to its members as for most of them it was “worse than what was originally on the table”.
Most specialists were already near or at the top of the specialist scale, and for them the offer (a 33-month term with no backdating) worked out at “less than 0.77% on average”, she said.
Dalton said the offer of less than 1% amounted to a pay cut in real terms, and would “drive existing doctors away rather than help retain them”.
It would not attract any new senior doctors to fill vacancies, which run at 12% on average, and up to 44% in some districts.
“New Zealand will be short more than 3450 senior doctors by 2032 and we are already seeing the impact of doctor shortages across the country with longer wait times in emergency departments and for first specialists’ appointments.
“At the same time, Health NZ continues to pay considerable amounts to locums [doctors covering specialist vacancies] some of whom are left in the posts for months rather than days or weeks, and who are paid significantly more than salaried staff.
“So we think their priorities are wrong, they’re not taking a long-term investment approach. They still can’t adequately account for where there are gaps and where there are not.”
While Health NZ was claiming to have made “recruitment and retention offers” in hard to staff areas, that was only happening in four districts, she said.
“They have coincidentally limited those to the four that have been in the media the most. Some of them do have the greatest need, like Tairāwhiti, but there are regions that have demonstrably higher vacancy levels that have not been included in this list.
“So they continue to ignore their own data in terms of what they say they are doing.”
Dalton acknowledged that Te Whatu Ora did move to address some problems in mediation, including offering to “restore relativities” with junior doctors.
That would benefit about 500 members.
However, some doctors were still waiting for aspects of the last collective settlement to be implemented. For instance, some districts were still not paying emergency department shift allowances.
“The strike will result in planned procedures being postponed, but the same number of procedures are lost every week due to ongoing staff shortages,” Dalton said.
Hospitals and emergency departments will remain open, and the union is working with Health NZ to ensure life-preserving services continue during the strike.
================================================================
Poll: Is it ok to regift something that you have been given?
🎁 Holiday Gift Chat!
Do you ever regift?
What’s your take on asking for a receipt if a gift doesn’t fit?
-
78.5% Yes! It's better to regift what I don't need
-
21.5% No. It's the thought and effort that matters
Today’s Mind-Bender is the Last of the Year! Can You Guess It Before Everyone Else? 🌟🎁🌲
I dance in the sky with green and gold, a spectacle few are lucky to behold; I’m best seen in the south, a celestial sight—what am I, lighting up the New Zealand night?
Do you think you know the answer? Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm on the day!
Want to stop seeing these in your newsfeed? No worries! Simply head here and click once on the Following button.
Charities turning away high numbers of volunteer applications
Charities are turning away people wanting to volunteer amidst a flood of interest they say is linked to the high rate of unemployment.
It comes as some businesses receive thousands of applications for paid roles and people look for experience anywhere they can.
The advocacy organisation Volunteering NZ has been tracking the trend. Spokesperson Margaret McLachlan said there has been a considerable rise in applications for volunteer roles across a range of charities.
Many application forms asks people to divulge if they are job hunters.
"Over the last year or so, they are seeing more people coming in who are saying they are in that category. They are looking for work but doing volunteering while that process is taking place."
"As unemployment increases and the cost of living, times are tougher for everybody."
At the same time, she said community organisations supporting social services were busier and needed more helpers.
McLachlan said depending on the organisation, they might want to do a police check, a reference check and an interview.
"In some cases it can be a process to go through and not always, and that can take some time.
"It's actually the same barriers that a person might find in finding a job, can also apply to volunteering. It's not always a easy option."
SPCA had 120 op shops and animal rescue centres across the country in which volunteers worked.
General manager of retail Cathy Crichton said they received about 1300 extra applications for volunteer roles, a 32 percent increase, from June to November 2025, compared to 2024.
"There's definitely a nudge forward which is very exciting and we're very grateful."
But it meant they were not accepting any more volunteers in some areas.
"Because the applications are up it's a unique scenario. But at this point in time, in smaller locations, we've actually got a hold in 19 locations in New Zealand where we are at capacity - and that's very rare and it's a very new trend."
Crichton said anyone seeking volunteer work should think creatively about what skills they can offer - it could be in administration or marketing.
"We'd love to welcome as many people as we could because the more hands on deck the more we can do and the more we can contribute to the community."
She said people were self-motivated to apply for volunteer work.
The unemployment rate rose to 5.3 percent in the September quarter, meaning 160,000 people were jobless. The next quarterly figures are out in February.
"There's a willingness to give back and contribute to the community. Unemployment being high really does encourage people to engage with the workforce and get experience," Crichton said.
"It really is about staying connected with the community and meeting others."
She said they had also seen an increase in young people seeking volunteer work experience.
"It's a great opportunity to get work experience and a reference and there's an appeal there as an employer...I really do think it adds value to a CV."
Stats NZ data showed over half of New Zealanders, 53 percent, volunteered during March 2025 and of those, 27.6 percent volunteered through an organisation and 40.8 percent volunteered directly for another person.
=====================================================
Loading…
