Health workers at Pacific Radiology to strike against regional pay rates

127 MRI technologists, sonographers, administrators, and others at Pacific Radiology will strike on Tuesday 10th September from 10am to 12pm.

Members of the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi voted to strike after their employer proposed different pay rates for people doing the same work based on what region they’re in.

Strike action comes as pay negotiations enter their tenth month. Some scan appointments scheduled during the strike period - including CTs, X-rays, ultrasounds, and MRIs - will be affected or need to be rescheduled.

"We should be paid for the skills we have and care we give patients, not for where we live, says PSA Delegate and Administrator Livi McHugo.

"They’re not proposing regional rates for everyone but we’re standing together because we don’t accept it for anyone."

The offer would see a sonographer in Christchurch paid around 5% less than a sonographer doing the same work in Wellington. An MRI technologist in Christchurch would be paid around 6% less than they would in Hamilton.

Experienced practitioners have already left Pacific Radiology for better pay offered by other medical imaging services. Members are concerned regional rates will only exacerbate recruitment issues in lower paid areas and damage workplace culture.

"A pay increase that’s fair for everyone and brings wages closer to what other companies offer is what will actually stop people leaving and bring new people in."

"We work very hard to get patients in as soon as possible, to get the right scan, to get their results, all with a real focus on patient care, says PSA Delegate and MRI Technologist Kirsten Miller.

"For us to keep giving that high quality care, we need to keep our experienced staff here."

"Most of us appreciate how we’ve been treated in the past and don’t want that to change. We just want a fair pay offer so we can look after ourselves and keep looking after patients." says McHugo.

PSA members will take strike action in Christchurch, Wellington, and Pacific Radiology sites across the regions.