Laboratory Workers at Awanui Labs strike this week

Off the back of another unfruitful round of negotiations with Awanui, the largest private laboratory provider in the country, the full withdrawal strike action planned for Thursday and Friday (24 &25 August) of this week and then Monday and Tuesday next week (28 & 29 August) will proceed.

On 18th of August APEX met with Awanui to hear a revised offer from the business. Awanui offered $3,500 on all base salaries for a one-year deal, which for scientists at the top of the salary scale was a decreased offer from their previous 5% offer.

The new offer of an increase to salaries of $3,500/annum doesn’t even achieve pay parity with current rates in public sector laboratories.

‘Awanui expects its senior scientists to agree to pay rates from 1 July 2023 which will be $2,500/annum below what senior scientists are currently paid in Labs run by Te Whatu Ora’, said APEX advocacy lead David Munro today. ‘And those Te Whatu Ora rates do not even include increases that are coming for pay equity and their own collective bargaining.’

This private sector business, which accounts for more than 70% of medical laboratory testing in New Zealand, cannot continue to shirk its responsibility to pay its staff fairly. Staffing levels are low, and declining, as staff vote with their feet and leave for better paying jobs in other sectors.

‘For Awanui Lab scientists that means turning your back on four-and-half years of degree training to take higher paid lower skilled jobs.’ continued Mr Munro today. ‘If Awanui doesn’t find the money soon to pay reasonable salary increases then patients will suffer longer delays in receiving test-results, which in turn will lead to delayed diagnosis and treatment with poorer ultimate health outcomes.’

There are pickets planned in Invercargill, Dunedin, Christchurch, Nelson, and Wellington.