Medical laboratory workers issue strike notice

Medical Laboratory Workers employed by Southern Community Laboratories Ltd who are members of APEX have voted to strike for 24 hours on Monday 17th August 2020. The strike is in support of bargaining for a fair pay offer from a strong and profitable private sector provider of medical laboratory testing.

SCL runs all medical laboratories from Wellington south, excepting Canterbury Labs in Christchurch and the hospital laboratory in Westport.

‘The current offer from the employer goes nowhere near to matching the salaries of colleagues employed in the DHB run Laboratories’. said APEX Senior Advocate David Munro today.

This business runs on taxpayer’s money and the profits go offshore to Australia where they help prop up ailing private hospitals which are also being bailed out by the Australian Federal Government. Meanwhile, here in New Zealand this pathology business that is responsible for 40% of Covid-19 testing is not prepared to fairly pay staff in their SCL Laboratories.

‘Under their proposed pay offer a fully qualified scientist would be paid 4% behind a colleague in a DHB lab doing the same work, and a qualified technician 6% behind.’ Mr Munro continued.

‘This is the workforce that is keeping New Zealand safe in the current Covid-19 crisis.’ Mr Munro continued. ‘It is intolerable that a profitable offshore company is not prepared to pay its New Zealand staff the same rates as DHBs.’

APEX members are currently being balloted for ongoing further strike action following the one-day stoppage on 17th August.