Lab. staff vote confirms action

Press, 28 January 1986, Page 8

Lab. staff vote confirms action

Christchurch medical laboratory technologists voted yesterday to take industrial action over the breakdown of their award talks.

The exact nature of the industrial action would be announced about February 3, said Mr Kevin McLoughlin, vice-presi-dent of the Institute of Medical Laboratory Technology council, last evening.

The action might include providing diagnostic services in emergency cases only, Mr McLoughlin said last evening. Laboratory technologists provide blood transfusion and screening services and biochemical tests at all Christchurch hospitals. The medical superin-tendent-in-chief of Christchurch Hospital, Drlßoss Fairgray, said last aven-

ing that emergency cases were difficult to define.

“The longer the industrial action goes on the more disruptive it will be to people and therefore the more serious,” Dr Fairgray said. “I understand that 14 days notice of industrial action was indicated by the institute last week.

Mr McLoughlin said that talks between the institute and the Health Services Personnel Commission broke down because the commission’s offer, over and above the 19.5 per cent annual adjustment for State servants in the health services, was not adequate. A meeting of 300 Auckland laboratory workers voted almost unanimously several days ago to back any notice of industrial action.