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Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) medical advisors are taking strike action for four hours today from 8am over their stalled employment agreement negotiations.
Lloyd Woods, a senior industrial officer at the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS), which represents most of the medical advisors employed by ACC, said the 39 medical advisors poised to walk off the job have “had a gutsful of their employer’s cavalier approach to their pay, conditions and well-being.”
“It’s only the second time ever that we can recall senior doctors in New Zealand going on strike,” he noted. “That says something about the level of dismay they’re feeling over ACC’s refusal of their perfectly reasonable claims for improvements to their pay and conditions.”
The medical advisors are seeking a redundancy agreement that matches what other ACC employees are eligible for, a statement about the importance of staff well-being included in the collective agreement, and a 1% per year salary increase.
“They’re not exactly asking for the moon and the stars,” Woods said. “These claims are very restrained and reasonable, and they’re gobsmacked that ACC is acting as if they’ve asked for gold-plated desks and dancing unicorns.
“ACC is a government organisation with the express purpose of promoting prevention, care and recovery – yet they won’t include a statement on well-being in an employment agreement for a small group of their employees. Come on ACC, you can do better,” he added.
The strike is part of the advisor’s weekly rolling stoppages. Further strikes are planned for July 25, August 02 and August 10.
