Health NZ offers bonuses, union claims pay inconsistency for doctors

Health NZ says it will offer bonus payments to senior doctors in hard-to-staff areas. Photo / 123rf

By Ruth Hill of RNZ

Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora is promising bonus payments to senior doctors who work in hard-to-staff areas, although a union is accusing it of failing to consistently pay allowances now.

The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, which represents 5500 senior hospital doctors and dentists, has criticised Health NZ’s new offer to its members as amounting to “an effective pay cut” for 90% of them.

Union head Sarah Dalton was also sceptical of Health NZ’s proposal to ring-fence $32 million over two years for an incentive to doctors to work in areas or specialities with particular shortages.

The agency was already paying $384m a year on contingency staffing, which was “driving people out of salaried into locum work and temporary gigs” and current systems for paying allowances were ad hoc and “shambolic”, she said.

However, Health NZ’s industrial relations lead Robyn Shearer said incentive funding showed the agency was listening to what the union had to say about the need to retain staff in those areas.

Specific details on how to allocate that money were yet to be agreed, she said.

The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists head Sarah Dalton has expressed scepticism over Health NZ’s $32 million incentive plan to address doctor shortages. Photo / NZME

“We need to get round the table and work ... through that in the bargaining process.

“Our intention is to work on that together with the union, so we are keen as part of proposed settlement to have it in agreement.”

Shearer agreed there was work to do on consistently applying allowances that had already been agreed, including the extra emergency department (ED) allowance that came out of the previous bargaining round.

“We are definitely keen to work on better consistency – there’s a big piece of work around application of allowances up and down the country, and we’re keen to work with the union on that.”

Health NZ would “much rather” employ permanent staff than have to find locums, she said.

“But there are good reasons for employing locums, including covering staff sickness and unfilled posts. They have an important role to play while we seek permanent, long-term solutions.”

– RNZ