Hospital Staff Salaries To Be Reviewed

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30452, 28 May 1964, Page 2

Hospital Staff Salaries To Be Reviewed

(Kew Zealand Prevt Ajvooat-.on? WELLINGTON, May 27. Salaries and working conditions of hospital board nurses, male nurses, dieticians, occupational therapists and physiotherapists are to be reviewed by a special committee set up by the Cabinet.

The Minister of Health (Mr McKay) said today recommendations on salaries and working conditions had been made by the salaries advisory committee. set up under the Hospitals Act. on which employees had representation. • The Registered Nurses' Association. on behalf of the 12.000 nurses employed by hospital boards, had claimed salary increases, overtime payment for work in excess of eight hours a day or an aggregate of more than 40 hours in any week, and penal-time payments for work on Satur-

days, Sundays and public holidays. Salary claims had also been made by physiotherapists. In reviewing the case for nurses and physiotherapists, the committee will also have ito consider salaries and employment conditions for male 1 nurses, dietitians and occujpational therapists. Mr Mc- : Kay said. “The Cabinet recognised that some changes in conditions of employment may be justified." he added.

i Many aspects of the claims would need discussions in much further detail with the nurses and other groups concerned. Mr McKay said problems of application would also have to be solved if the conditions of employment sought were considered wholly or partly justified and some aspects of hospital policy, outside the functions of the salaries advisory. committes, would have to be reviewed by the Government. Mr McKay said for these I reasons the Cabinet had decided to appoint a special committee to review all the claims. Committee Chairman of the committee is Mr L G. Lythgoe. a State Services Commissioner. Members are Mr B. L. Dallard, chairman of the Wellington Hospital Board: Mr H. Buswell, of the staff of the Auckland Hospital Board: •Mr A- E. Galletly. chief executive officer of the Hospitals Division. Department of : Health: and Mr R M. Muir, a senior investigating officer of Treasury.