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Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) medical advisors are set to strike over improvements to pay and conditions that their union negotiator says “should be a no-brainer.”
According to the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS), which represents most of the medical advisors employed by ACC, members have voted for a series of rolling stoppages for four hours at a time on a different day each week, for five weeks starting July 17.
ASMS senior industrial officer Lloyd Woods said their claims are “very straightforward.” The members want a redundancy agreement that matches what other ACC employees are eligible for. They also demand a statement about the importance of staff well-being be included in the collective agreement, and a 1% per year salary increase.
“It beggars belief that ACC, with all of its aims, refuses to include a statement about well-being,” Woods said. “This is a case of walk-the-talk. You can’t say one thing and do something else if you want to be seen as a credible, responsible employer.
“It should be a no-brainer for ACC to accept these perfectly reasonable claims,” he added.
Woods also noted that it’s only the second time in memory that senior doctors anywhere in New Zealand have resorted to strike action for them to be taken seriously.
“Our members have been very patient but negotiations have been going on since November and ACC just keeps on dragging its heels,” he noted.
Moreover, Woods claims that ACC’s plans to slash its medical advisory staffing by almost 20% have left staff feeling vulnerable. The lack of progress in negotiations on their collective agreement is causing further frustration and stress.
More strikes would be inevitable if ACC continued to reject claims out of hand, he added.
