By ALAN PERROTT
Talks continued last night in a last-ditch effort to prevent a seven-day strike by Auckland radiation therapists scheduled to start at 5.30 this afternoon.
Their dispute with the Auckland District Health Board is the last outstanding issue after therapists in Manawatu and the Waikato reached agreements late last week.
Delegates for Apex, the Association of Professional and Executive Salaried Therapists, expressed frustration last night over the difficulty they were having in reaching a settlement.
The Auckland therapists want a base starting salary of $40,000 rather than the present starting rate of $35,000.
Apex says the higher starting salary would help stop the flow of graduates leaving the country for better-paid jobs.
National secretary Deborah Powell has been critical of the role of the Auckland District Health Board's chief operating officer, Neil Woodhams.
She said Mr Woodhams, the combined hospitals spokesman, had not been attending negotiations and yet overrode whatever had been agreed at them.
Mr Woodhams said there had not yet been any agreement to override.
He said Auckland was in a unique position because it had the largest radiation unit in the country and would have a full complement of 45 staff in March.
The district health boards in Manawatu and the Waikato agreed to minimum starting salaries of $40,000 and a 20 per cent pay rise.
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