The unions are playing up for their new master like there is no tomorrow.
The nurses union have rejected their pay offer and now the PSA is talking wider action in the public sector: Quote:
The nurses union has “strongly rejected” a district health board pay and conditions offer and is seeking urgent mediation to stave off nationwide strikes.
But the Government says it is “preparing for the worst” because there is no more money to offer.
On Monday, Health Minister David Clark poured cold water on nurses’ hopes of gaining much more on a pay deal that was doubled on the one prior. The latest deal was more than what was recommended by an independent panel set up to try and navigate through an apparent impasse between the unions and district health boards (DHBs).
But New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) industrial services manager Cee Payne announced nurses had overwhelmingly rejected the pay offer, saying “the past decade of underfunding of DHBs has taken a heavy toll on nurses and their ability to provide safe patient care”.
The $500 million package was the biggest pay offer nurses had seen in more than a decade. It included three 3 per cent pay increases, a $2000 lump sum and the creation of two new pay steps for nurses.
It also included the promise of about 500 new nurses into circulation and a pledge to work towards pay equity for the profession. End quote.
Despite being the biggest pay rise in ten years these greedy, grasping people have decided to ask for even more.
I bet the government is really wishing that they hadn’t bribed rich kids at university.
This is what happens when unions control the Labour party. They are simply demanding that which they invested in by supporting Labour. Quote:
Clark said contingency planning for strikes was “well advanced”. While he was encouraged by joint efforts for mediation, the Government was “preparing for the worst”.
“I think expectations are high and I don’t blame people for being hopeful, but we’ve been really clear that we’ve put our best offer out there in terms of the DHBs and the Government has taken a decision in this process, to put forward an extra quarter of a billion dollars – nearly doubling the deal – for this best offer.,” he said.
“People have to know that that’s the money that’s available and that’s the situation we’re in.”
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters echoed those comments, saying there were many competing interests the Government had to consider.
“We won’t be able to fix all the problems in just one pay round – it takes time to fix neglect. We need to balance competing priorities and make sure we have the money aside for a rainy day.”
Rainy days included unforseen costs born out of natural disasters like the recent mycoplasma bovis incursion, that was hitting the dairy industry. There were also a number of other pay negotiations with teachers and other public service groups in the pipeline.
“This Government will exercise fiscal constraint; we have to balance the books and run a strong economy in order to afford the pay claims public servants are making,” Peters said. End quote.
If the government is planning for the worst and their plans are well advanced then that says much. It tells us that the government has no intention of backing down, and they’ve shafted the nurses and planned to do that all along.
I can’t wait until the teachers cut up rough.