The Pathlab website says its clinics on 2nd Ave, Bethlehem, Greerton, Katikati, Mount Maunganui, Otūmoetai, Pāpāmoa, and Te Puke are closed due to the strike.
The clinic next to Tauranga Hospital on Cameron Rd will be open for urgent testing.
Pathlab provides blood testing and other pathology services to about 1000 patients daily in the Western Bay of Plenty area.
Why Pathlab staff are striking
FIRST Union organiser Amanda Rochester previously told the Bay of Plenty Times Pathlab workers were coming off the back of a three-year deal and had seen their wages “stagnate” – a claim denied by the company – while inflation and the cost of living had risen.
She said the entry-level wage of a phlebotomotologist was $23.56 per hour, below the living wage of $26 per hour.
In her view: “They’ve consistently been asked to do more with less and have a number of long-standing vacancies that they’re struggling to fill due to low wages and a growing workload.
“Staff want fair wage rises, including a minimum living wage, but they believe that without strike action, management will not sufficiently increase wages during bargaining and that will mean a significant net loss for workers, who are already struggling to survive in one of the most expensive regions to live in in Aotearoa.”
The Pathlab clinic in Greerton. Photo / Alex Cairns
Rochester said pay parity was also a “major issue” with public hospital workers who delivered similar services receiving a “significant” pay increase of up to 25 per cent in recent years.
“This has created a big disparity between them and workers at private companies like Pathlab.
“Without parity between the public and private health systems, recruitment and retention of new staff is even more difficult.”
What Pathlab says
Pathlab chief executive Dianne McQueen previously told the Bay of Plenty Times a pay parity agreement between Te Whatu Ora Health NZ and the unions representing hospital laboratory workers was reached late last year, with a wage increase ranging from 20 to 35 per cent.
The result was a “rather large disparity” for the private laboratory workers in New Zealand, she said.
“Our current laboratory service contracts with Te Whatu Ora do not have the capability to service such increases. This increase is unprecedented and was not envisaged when the contracts were written.”
She said Te Whatu Ora had acknowledged all laboratory sectors funded by the agency – including private laboratories – should receive pay parity.
“Pathlab is working closely with Te Whatu Ora to ensure we have a pathway to access funding for this.
“We acknowledge that this is very unsettling for our employees and is a risk to Pathlab, as available positions within the hospital Te Whatu Ora funded laboratories are receiving a considerable difference in wages.”
McQueen said its Bay of Plenty staff signed a three-year agreement until November 2023 with a 6.2 per cent increase over this time.
“Additionally, we paid a pro-rata [on full-time equivalent basis] $2000 in recognition of the work we all performed during Covid.”
As inflation rose, Pathlab brought forward the final year’s increase by six months to help sustain rising living costs, McQueen said.
Wages “have not stagnated” and Pathlab was in negotiation, with an offer on the table of 6 per cent backdated to November 2023.
She said Pathlab had always ensured its employees’ wages were “fair and equitable” within the industry scope.
An earlier version of this story said Pathlab was in negotiation, with an offer on the table of 9 per cent backdated to November 2023. This was incorrect. The offer on the table was 6 per cent backdated to November 2023.
Megan Wilson is a health and general news reporter for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has been a journalist since 2021.
