Gisborne lab staff to strike for two days this week

Medical lab workers all over the country including TLab staff in Gisborne will strike on Wednesday and Friday. The majority of staff in Gisborne are based at the hospital. No testing is done at all at the TLab facility near Roebuck Rd intersection. Photo / Wynsley Wrigley

Tlab medical laboratory staff in Gisborne have confirmed they will strike for 24 hours on Wednesday and Friday, either side of Waitangi Day.

Medlab staff and their Allied Scientific and Technical (Apex) Union colleagues in Whangārei, Taranaki, Waikato, Tauranga, Whakatāne, Rotorua, Palmerston North, Whanganui, Hawke’s Bay, the Wellington region and the South Island are striking over pay parity disparity with their Health NZ (public healthcare) counterparts.

The strike action will impact the majority of hospital and community services across the motu.

Medlab Central spokesman Cynric Temple-Camp said the organisation was working to reduce the impact on patients and the Gisborne and wider East Coast community of this action.

“We apologise for any inconvenience that will occur.

“Our laboratories play an essential role in the provision of healthcare services, and we are working closely with the union, hospitals and health professionals to ensure essential life-preserving services remain available and ongoing distribution to the community can be minimised.”

Medlab understood the issues involved in the pay discrepancy between its lab workers and the public sector, he said.

Those issues had arisen following the previous Government’s pay equity settlements with public sector employees.

“We continue to work constructively with officials on this matter.”

An Apex spokesman said members who are medical laboratory workers employed in these labs are paid on average 28% to 32% less than their Health NZ counterparts, despite performing the same work.

Most MedLab/Tlab staff in Gisborne are based at the hospital.

No testing is done at the TLab facility near the Roebuck Rd intersection, which is staffed by two phlebotomists.

Samples are couriered up to the TLab facility at the hospital.