By Martin Johnston
health reporter
Auckland Healthcare may turn patients away from its hospitals when the bulk of its laboratory workers go on strike next Tuesday.
The public hospital company said yesterday that it might be forced to cancel elective surgery and non-urgent medical consultations during the threatened three-day strike.
Auckland Healthcare's laboratory service,
LabPlus, does blood, tissue and other tests for the company's four hospitals - Auckland, Starship children's, National Women's and Green Lane - and other hospitals, plus post-mortem examinations.
The chief executive of Auckland Healthcare, Graeme Edmond, said LabPlus was confident it could maintain a safe service during the strike but at a greatly reduced level, possibly leading to the cancellation of elective and non-urgent work.
Cancellation letters would not be sent to patients until next week "when we are more sure of the impact," he said last night.
The Medical Laboratory Workers Union issued a strike notice last week after its collective contract talks with the company broke down. The union represents 210 of the 300 staff of the laboratory service based at two locations on the company's Grafton and Green Lane sites.
The company rejected the union's claim for a 3 per cent pay rise in a one-year contract. It offered two annual rises of 1 per cent in a two-year contract.
A union advocate, Trish Lush, said Auckland Healthcare's laboratory pay rates, ranging from $30,000 to $40,000, were the lowest of the region's three public hospital companies.
The union was claiming 3 per cent to help stem the loss of qualified and experienced staff to jobs which offered better pay and career progression.
The claim equated to an average rise of $23 a week, she said.
Mr Edmond said his company's offer was fair and reasonable in the present economic environment.
