General Managers, Service Managers and Functional Managers employed by Health New Zealand at Counties Manukau District and represented by the APEX union will take partial strike action for 14 days from 27 October.
This is the first time these managers have joined a union and taken strike action to progress collective bargaining. After 15 months of bargaining without a formal offer, APEX Senior Advocate Denise Tairua said: “APEX manager members feel disrespected and undervalued by the employer. Managers are the glue holding the system together, ensuring services run smoothly and patients receive their treatments.”
Managers face pressure from above to meet targets and remain within budgets, while also responding to workforces struggling with understaffing and insufficient resources to provide the care patients need.
Managers predominantly come from Allied Health or Nursing backgrounds and are currently covered by Individual Employment Agreements (IEAs) which historically were paid more than their previous profession to reflect responsibility and hours required for this role. Recent pay equity settlements have delivered salary increases of more than 20% for their base professional groups, IEAs simply have not kept pace. Managers now have direct reports covered by collective agreements who are often paid more than them and have greater certainty about their terms and conditions.
Recent changes to Health New Zealand policies have reduced terms and conditions, including the loss of long-service leave for employees covered by IEAs. These changes have prompted the managers to collectivise and join APEX.
“Managers want certainty about pay and key terms and conditions which cannot be unilaterally changed through employer policy, it is in everyone’s best interests that managers are appropriately paid and feel valued, enabling them to support the services and organisation they lead” concluded Denise Tairua.
ENDS
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 with no direct reports 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