Te Whatu Ora says their payroll teams are under pressure after series of settlements
The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS) is calling on Health Minister Shane Meti to interfere in the "withheld" pay raises of senior doctors by Te Whatu Ora.
ASMS executive director Sarah Dalton said it has been three months since senior doctors have settled pay negotiations with Te Whatu Ora, but they have yet to receive the promised hike.
"Doctors settled on a modest cost-of-living increase, only to have it withheld by their employer. This is a poor way to show staff they are valued," Dalton said in a statement.
"Minister Shane Reti says the health care system is in crisis and workforce retention is a key priority. Making sure senior doctors and dentists are paid what they are owed, on time, is a critical first step to retain our medical workforce."
According to Dalton, Te Whatu Ora said some doctors will not be paid until June.
"That is more than six months late and we have little confidence based on current performance that Te What Ora can even achieve that," she said.
At such pace, the executive director said negotiations for the next collective agreement will begin before Te Whatu Ora meets its current obligations.
"It is Te Whatu Ora's responsibility to make sure it has sufficient staff and systems in place to process payroll changes promptly, and to pay all health workers correctly and on time," she said.
Senior doctors and Te Whatu Ora settled late last year their pay dispute after the former agreed to an average pay rise of just over 5.7%, Radio New Zealand reported.
The settlement comes after months of strikes from senior doctors, with the Employment Relations Authority even asked to facilitate bargaining after negotiations reached an impasse at some point.
Andrew Slater, Te Whatu Ora chief people officer, defended that their payroll systems have been under pressure in the past months as more pay equity settlements are sealed.
"We understand that our people are frustrated by the time this is taking, and we have been providing staff and unions with weekly updates on timeframes for when the pay increases will be processed," Slater told RNZ.
According to Slater, most senior medical officers would receive all payments by April, while some would receive theirs by May and June.
Slater said they have already bolstered their payroll teams by over 30% in the past months, stressing that they are "doing everything possible to pay our people as fast as possible."
