Ryan Bridge: The doctors strike doesn't add up

Have you been keeping up with this senior doctor's strike? There's a couple of things that don't add up.  

Yesterday we spoke about the average salary for these unionised senior doctors. 

Simeon Brown says it's a total package worth $343,500. 

The union hit back - they said the number was made up.  

Which it's not. It's the total package including superannuation and overtime penalties, etc. 

Now, for most Kiwis, when you apply for a job, that's the number you'd work off. When somebody asks how much do you get paid in a year, do you just say your base salary?  

No, you'd say your total package amount.

Second bit is around the actual staffing, cause this does not make sense.  

We hear from doctors that they're so short-staffed - not enough specialists, not enough doctors, etc.

So short staffed that they're on their knees and the system's broken.  

But Ministry of Health says there are more senior doctors now than when National came into office. 

And what's more, their churn or turnover has come down too.  

So are the doctors saying the situation is now worse than when National came in and if so, how when there are apparently more doctors?

So either the Ministry's lying or the system is bad and maybe broken but still better than it was 15 months ago. which is it?  

Then there's the pay.  

Put your hands up if you've scored a 12% pay rise lately?  

No,  I didn't think so. Not that I can see your hands. Dairy farmers you'll all have your hands up in the milking shed this morning I hope with your record payout.  

But what about your average worker? No. So doctors want 12%. The Ministry says 1-2%.  

Again, this doesn't make sense. If you're worried about safe staffing levels  —and this is not really about pay— the chances of Health NZ hiring more doctors when the wage bill's 12% higher seems less likely.  

Is this counterproductive?  

Like I said yesterday, you want the men and women who cut you open for surgery to be well paid and rested,  because well, they're cutting you open for surgery.  

But they need to articulate just how sick the patient is before we dial up the medicine. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Right now if you've probably been keeping across these senior
doctors strike as well, because it's going to affect all
of us. There will be surgeries that are delayed, there
will be specialist appointments that are delayed. There's a couple
of things about the story that just don't add up.
Yesterday we spoke about the average salary for these unionized
senior doctors. So Simeon Brown says the total packages worth

(00:21):
three hundred and forty thousand. Excuse me. The union hit
back yesterday they said, no, that's a made up number.
They said, We've had people calling us, doctors calling us
saying I'd love to earn that much. But the point
is it's average, right, It's an average, so it's not
made up, and it's a total package including superannuation, overtime

(00:41):
and penalties. Now, for most kiwis when you apply for
a job, that's the number that you would work off,
isn't it. When somebody asks you how much do you
get paid in the year, Well, first of all, you
wouldn't tell them, But do you just say your base salary? No,
you would say your total package amount. Second bit is
around the actual staffing because this does not make sense me.
We hear from doctors they are so short staff, not

(01:03):
enough specialists, not enough doctors, etc. So short staff that
they're on their knees and the system's broken. But the
Ministry of Health says there are more senior doctors now
than when National came into office. And what's more, the
churn or the turnover has also come down. So are
the doctors saying the situation is now worse than when
National came in And if so, how short are we?

(01:28):
So either the Ministry is kind of making up numbers
or lying, or the system is bad and may be broken,
but still better than it was fifteen months ago. Which
is it? Then there's the pay Put your hands up,
dear listeners, put your hands up if you've scored a
twelve percent pay rise lately. No, I didn't think so,
not that I can see your hands, but I'm assuming

(01:49):
there'll be some dairy farmers probably got their hands up
in the milking sheds this morning. With your record payout,
nothing to scoff at. But what about your average worker? No,
so doctors w twelve percent? The ministry says one to
two percent. Again, this doesn't make sense if you're worried
about safe staffing levels, and this is not really about pay.

(02:11):
The chances of Health New Zealand hiring more doctors when
the wage bill is twelve percent higher seems less likely.
Is this counterproductive? Like I said yesterday, you want the
men and women who cut you open for surgery to
be well paid and rested, because well, they're cutting you
open for surgery, but they need to articulate just how
sick the patient is before we dial up the medicine.

(02:34):
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