Strike not off the table for disability support workers

A strike is not off the table for union disability support workers who say Te Whatu Ora Nelson Marlborough is holding out on adequate pay for those in the industry.

The Public Service Association (PSA) union represents 230 disability support workers across Te Tauhiu and is seeking a greater pay increase than the 3 per cent rise given by the Government, due to the high cost of living and the difficult conditions they work in.

However, PSA union organiser Kate Davis said Te Whatu Ora still hadn’t offered the workers an adequate deal. “We’ve been bargaining since June,” she said.

“They have not moved… they’ve been hard to get hold of, and what’s worse for our members is that we know that in other locations the same bargaining agent for Te Whatu Ora has offered the same group of workers five times more.”

In December, the union rejected a one-off $400 pro rata payment, with the promise of another $1,500 pro rata payment this year. A paid, two-hour stop-work meeting for Live Life Disability Support staff was held on Saturday to protest the health agency’s reluctance to offer greater remuneration.

During the meeting, union members discussed potentially escalating action by balloting for a strike. “I hope Te Whatu Ora will give us an amended offer so we don’t have to go on strike, because nobody likes strikes,” said PSA union delegate and support worker Annette Taylor. “It’s a shame that it’s actually come to this.”

Taylor has worked for the health agency for “a very long time” and describes the current staffing situation as a “crisis” – with some workers doing up to five consecutive 24-hour shifts – which is exacerbated by Te Whatu Ora offering less pay than private disability support and even entry-level supermarket jobs, which makes it difficult to attract and retain staff.

“They need to look after the staff that they’ve got… They’re getting burnt out, they’re working so hard, they’ll just move on,” Taylor said. “We look after vulnerable people in our community. If it wasn’t for us, I don’t know how they would survive.”

Disability support workers do almost everything for their charges, from helping them dress, bathe, and go to the toilet, to cooking, cleaning, medicating, providing emotional support, and attending appointments. They also clean up blood, vomit, and faeces when needed, while sometimes being subjected to violence in the complex needs houses.

Te Whatu Ora Nelson Marlborough district director Lexie O’Shea has previously told Local Democracy Reporting that the agency wouldn’t comment on ongoing negotiations with the union, but she applauded the disability support workforce.

“Our valuable staff do amazing work in our community offering care, support and compassion to people with disabilities.”

However, Taylor said disability support workers don’t feel appreciated for their work.
“Don’t get me wrong, I love my job,” Taylor said. “But at the moment the way I feel is very very undervalued.”

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