Simeon Brown: Health Minister on seeking binding arbitration to resolve the senior doctors dispute

The Health Minister wants the senior doctors’ union to put patients first and enter binding arbitration. 

Simeon Brown has given Health NZ and the union until 4pm today to respond to his urgent request to let a third party decide the terms of the contract. 

Health NZ's agreed to participate in an effort to resolve 12 months of collective agreement negotiations.  

Brown told Mike Hosking he's doing what he can to find a way forward. 

He's trying to persuade both parties to come to the table and agree to the process, which is in the best interest of patients. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Another messy week for industrial relations. Nurses took two days

(00:03):
off of course, and now the government has weighed in
over seeing your doctors. They want mandatory arbitration between Health
in New Zealand and the union. After twelve months are
basically going nowhere. Some mean Browns a health minister of course,
and it is with.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Us morning, good morning mate.

Speaker 1 (00:15):
So they've got till four pm today to respond to
you're confident or not we.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
Look, I hope they do the right thing and support
binding arbitration. It's been twelve months of negotiation, there's been
the Employment Relations Authority involved facilitation. The latest offer was
rejected by the union on Monday and they then immediately
started balancing their staff for another strike later this month.
Ultimately that would mean more Keyi's missing out on the

(00:42):
care that they are entitled to, and so I'm asking
both parties to agree to binding arbitration to resolve this
issue so we can move forward and put patients first.

Speaker 1 (00:51):
The gap, as you understand it is that gargantuan large small.
Is there a problem or not?

Speaker 2 (00:56):
Well, Look, I think the union's put a very very
significant and to request on the table. Health New Zealand
has tried to address those with a range of issues.
They've tried to put tried to address a range of
the union's issues such as retention and hard to staff
hospitals with payments to staff who work in those more regional,

(01:16):
remote areas. They've addressed issues such as junior doctors becoming
senior doctors effectively currently get a pay cut, removing those
bottom bands so that those doctors progress in their pay
and increases in the bands over time as well. So
Health New Zealand's tried to address that with the offer.
It's been rejected and so ultimately the way forward in
my view and the government's view, is to have binding

(01:39):
arbitration so that both parties can come together. Independent arbitrator
determines the case and puts forward a recommendation which both
parties are then bound by.

Speaker 1 (01:48):
Can't remember, but it was this year. What was the
other one you were involved with?

Speaker 2 (01:51):
This?

Speaker 1 (01:52):
Was it the nurses that went off to arbitration.

Speaker 2 (01:55):
Well, the nurses have had facilitation and they've had health museums.
I've been working through that with them. They've strike that
has been strikes this week. I've been encouraging both parties
to get back to the bargaining table, which I understand
they will following yesterday's strikes, which is the right thing
to do. Ultimately, my key message is striking is not

(02:17):
the answer. Striking impacts patients who have already been waiting
far too long for the care that they need. We
have too many people waiting too long for elective surgeries
such as hips, knees, cataracts. We've made good progress this year.
Those waitlists are coming down, which is fantastic and his
testament to the hard working doctors, nurses, surgeons, But we

(02:37):
have to keep putting patients first, settle these disputes and
move forward in the best interested patients.

Speaker 1 (02:43):
Why don't we just have laws that say you get
two cracks, four cracks, whatever, and after that you're off
to mediation full stop.

Speaker 2 (02:50):
Well, I think there certainly is a need to look
at this, and I know that the Minister of Public Services,
Judith Collins, is looking at a range of things in
this space. But what I'm doing is what I can
with the powers that exists, and effectively trying to persuade
both parties to come to the table agree to a
process which then binds them to an outcome so we

(03:11):
can move forward in the best interest of patients.

Speaker 1 (03:12):
You're losing the political debate on this because health is
supposed to be off the political radar and it isn't.

Speaker 2 (03:19):
Look I think what we're trying to do here is
to find a way through. We are making good progress
for patients this year, we're seeing those wait lists drop.
But ultimately my key message to the unions is striking
isn't the answer. We need to find a way through this,
and that's what I'm putting on the table.

Speaker 1 (03:35):
I have a good weekend, appreciate it. Health Minister, Summing
and Brown, the Judaic Colin things interesting. You probably it
wasn't covered properly. But defense has changed. They change or
will change the law on defense so military can now
serve in administrative roles if there is a strike. And
Labour's been asking a lot of questions in the House
of late over you know, are you going to change

(03:58):
the laws around striking? So some is afoot and if
it is, that's good. I probably don't have time to
talk to Judith about it after seven o'clock, but maybe
if time allows, will give it a crack because we've
got the war to deal with.

Speaker 2 (04:10):
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Speaker 1 (04:13):
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