Awanui Labs Laboratory Workers Voted Overwhelmingly in Favour of Strike Action
Monday 26 June 2023
Laboratory Workers at SCL Labs – part of Awanui Labs – in the South Island and Wellington region have voted overwhelmingly in favour of taking strike action in mid-July in the face of no pay offer from their employer at collective bargaining.
Awanui Labs runs every medical Laboratory in the South Island except for at Canterbury hospital and West Coast hospital, and all medical laboratories in the Wellington region. Awanui is a privately owned laboratory group with shared investment from the NZ Super Fund, a Canadian teachers pension fund, and Iwi interests in Aotearoa. Last year it paid a 43-million-dollar dividend to shareholders.
The SCL collective agreement is a three-year agreement that expires at the end of June and was bargained back in 2020. ‘Since then, our Apex members have been the heroes of the Covid-19 response, whilst at the same time seeing the value of their wages eroded by the unanticipated Cost-of-Living crisis.’ said APEX Advocate David Munro today. ‘We have raised a claim that would see our members pay increase to rates paid to similar professional groups in the health sector. This has been met with no offer of any sort from the employer.’ he continued.
The strike in July is over a full week and will be accompanied by pickets at selected SCL locations.
ENDS
Contact: David Munro
Laboratories National Advocate APEX
Mobile: (027) 276 9999
Email: david@apex.org.nz
What is a Medical Laboratory Worker?
Medical Laboratory Workers are registered health professionals who run laboratories and test, interpret and report laboratory results. They are trained to identify disease and abnormalities through studying blood, tissue and other bodily samples. Laboratory workers work ‘behind the scenes’ but remain an integral part of the health system whose work is vital to patient treatment. More than 90% of prescribed treatments require laboratory input to aid/confirm diagnosis or to monitor drug levels or disease progression.
Medical laboratory science is a bit like detective work. Workers look for answers to the disease ‘puzzle’ to help doctors diagnose and treat their patients. They answer questions such as: are these cells abnormal? What do these blood cells tell us about this person’s health? How does it fit in with their other symptoms? How much of drug ‘x’ is in this person’s blood? Is it working effectively? What bug is making this person sick?
Medical Laboratory Workers take on a high level of responsibility, often needing to make important decisions under pressure. Emergencies can occur at any time, day or night, so laboratory workers have to prioritise and use their initiative, often without much back-up. If the doctor needs to know the answer, they have to deliver. Sometimes this means working through the night providing results while patients fight for their life in another part of the hospital or a surgeon waits, mid-operation, for a phone call.
Responsibilities include developing, adapting and applying scientific methods of analysis and ensuring high standards of quality assurance. An understanding of the methodology and theory behind complicated, technical and automated equipment is essential, as is developing the skills necessary to identify and interpret abnormalities under the microscope or via other diagnostic technology. Laboratory workers are highly regarded and sought after worldwide.