Stopwork will hit 29 rest homes

More than 500 staff from 29 rest homes and geriatric hospitals nationwide plan to strike for six hours this week and for 24 hours next week.

More than 1500 residents and patients could be affected during the walk-outs by nurses, caregivers, cleaners and laundry staff.

The unions - the Nurses Organisation and the Service & Food Workers Union - are not obliged to provide emergency cover, unlike during health worker strikes in acute-care hospitals.

Bryan Mogridge, the chairman of Guardian Healthcare, the worst affected of the four care providers, said it had measures in place to look after residents and patients.

"It's largely all the non-union members at our facilities and if required we would bring some other people in. We have got it pretty well covered."

Paul Heeney, chief executive of the Roskill Masonic Village in Auckland, said: "We are confident that for the six-hour strike we will be able to provide the level of care we need to.

"We haven't got a plan in place for the strike [next] week. That will be more serious."

Service union senior organiser Jill Ovens said that aside from pay rates, one of the main disputes with Masonic was the employer's refusal to protect caregivers' conditions and continuity of service when the facility transfers to new owner the Selwyn Foundation, part of the Anglican Church, in November.

Such protection was binding, she said, under legal amendments enacted last year for laundry and cleaning staff, but not caregivers.

She said because of the Christian connections of Masonic Village and Selwyn, "I think they should take a much more Christian attitude".

Mr Heeney said under the sale agreement with Selwyn, Masonic would end its caregivers' employment and pay them any entitlements. It would be up to Selwyn and the individuals "to work out new arrangements, whether collective or individual".

Selwyn chief executive the Rev Duncan Macdonald declined to comment, referring the Herald back to Masonic as the present owner.

Nurses Organisation spokeswoman Jane Kostanich said most caregiver members at the Guardian sites were paid about $11 an hour, compared with a base rate of $12 to $16 at public hospitals.

They were seeking $11 to $14 and had been offered $10 to $12.50.

"This dispute is a classic David and Goliath ... hundreds of low-paid, hard-working women and ... an overseas-owned [Australian] operator, rich in cash and poor in spirit."

Mr Mogridge agreed the company was profitable, but said costs could not keep increasing without rising revenue.

The company had raised wages 2 per cent annually for the past three years. It even paid an increase last year during uncertainty over funding rises from the Government, the sector's largest source of revenue.

Guardian had offered a 2 per cent interim rise, but if the Government increased funding to allow a 3 per cent price rise, "then we will increase wages by 3 per cent".

Strike details

* Affected rest homes and geriatric hospitals: 20 owned by Guardian Healthcare, New Zealand Life Care (3), Macpherson Group (5), and the Roskill Masonic Village.

* First strike: Thursday from 7am to 1pm at the Macpherson facilities; Friday from 7am to 1pm at the others.

* Second strike: 24 hours from 7am on October 6.