Health NZ Managers are taking industrial action for the first time in the pursuit of a collective employment agreement, after saying they have been overworked, undervalued and left without a collective voice.
In a landmark first, managers at Middlemore Hospital, Manukau Superclinic and associated Counties Manukau services began two weeks of industrial action at midnight last night.
For the next two weeks, APEX members in management roles working across Counties Manukau will:
- Work no more than 40 hours a week or 8 hours a day, including not responding to calls, emails or messages outside those hours
- Carry out only the duties in their position descriptions as published before Monday 12 October, the day strike notice was issued
These managers have spent 15 months in collective bargaining without receiving a formal offer from Health NZ.
“Managers have no other option but to take industrial action in support of a collective agreement,” says APEX Senior Advocate Denise Tairua.
The partial strike is intended to make visible the unpaid after-hours work Health NZ relies on. Managers say repeated restructures and service cuts have added to their workloads without recognition or extra pay. Many are effectively on call around the clock, and some position descriptions are up to 15 years old and no longer reflect the job.
Because managers have always been on Individual Employment Agreements (IEAs), they have had no collective voice on pay or workload. They say the result is stress, burnout and resignations.
Managers want a collective agreement that sets out their terms and conditions and prevents changes without their agreement. So far, Health NZ has said it prefers to keep managers on IEAs and address their concerns through organisational policy changes.
However, managers say that approach has already cost them. Under IEAs, Health NZ can change their terms unilaterally and has recently removed entitlements such as long service leave without consultation or agreement.
After the latest bargaining round on 7 October 2026, Health NZ said they would confirm by Friday 23 October 2026 whether they have a mandate to bargain for a collective agreement. To date, managers have received no confirmation, and no further bargaining dates have been set.
“Managers are often paid below those reporting to them. It will be difficult for Health NZ to find replacements, as clinical staff are protected by collective agreements that provide security in their terms and conditions,” says Denise Tairua.
Hospital and community services depend on these managers to function. They say fair pay and treatment are essential to keeping services running and patients safe.
For further Information please contact:
Denise Tairua
APEX Senior Advocate
Phone: 021827579
Email: denise@apex.org.nz
Notes for editors:
APEX represents General Managers, Group Managers, Operations Managers, Service Managers, Project Managers and Functional Managers, who work at Counties Manukau District hospitals and clinics. These managers predominantly come from nursing or Allied Health backgrounds.
Examples include:
- General Managers of services such as General Medicine
- Service Managers of services such as medical laboratories and Kidz First
- Functional Managers in areas such as information systems, risk and quality management
- Group Managers such as Regional Forensic Psychiatry Services
- Project Managers in areas such as service development management