Hospital talks to resume

Press, 2 December 1987, Page 8

Hospital talks to resume

By

RICHARD CRESSWELL

and SARAH SANDS Fresh award talks for the health service sector will begin in Wellington tomorrow. The action by hospital workers in Canterbury which would have plunged public and private hospitals and rest homes into chaos, has been called off. The strike has been averted by meetings between the employers, the

Federation of Labour, the Employers’ Federation, and the Arbitration Commission’s chief commis- ' sioner. t The commissioner, Mr lan Mac Kay, said likely [ changes in the health ser- , vice sector were expected , through the Gibbs Report (the task force on hospitals and related services), j and the Royal Commission on Social Policy. Such reports, when known, would bring radical change to the health

service in New Zealand. The national union wanted to amalgamate the awards covering public and private hospitals and rest homes — a move vigorously opposed by the employers. The commissioner, the F.O.L. and the Employers’ Federation have proposed a working party of four workers and four employers, to report by October 1 next year.

Existing awards will be renegotiated starting with

the rest homes tomorrow and on Friday.

The private hospital workers’ award will be negotiated on December 9 and 10, and a date has yet to be set for public hospital workers’ award talks.

The chief executive of the Canterbury Hospital Board, Mr Ron Parker, said late yesterday afternoon that the board had not heard officially that the strike was off.