Deductions in Ambulance worker pay is an attack on all health sector workers – Health Sector Workers Network

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Health Sector Workers Network (HSWN) stand with ambulance officers from First Union and also condemn a decision by St John to deduct 10 per cent from their wages for refusing to wear uniforms as part of a strike action.
Across the health sector, all workers are experiencing the stress of increased workloads and unsafe working conditions. The health system is being squeezed by government austerity measures. This affects workers, their conditions, and ultimately the people health workers are all trying to help. This is affects us all, “an injury to one is an injury to all”.
“I’m sure there will be a lot of people throughout the health sector and in communities all across Aotearoa/New Zealand, who will be siding with the ambulance officers, they are the face and the lifeblood of the service… and the ambos are the ones who need the support from other workers in the health sector.” says Kieran Monaghan (Registered Nurse and Member of Health Sector Workers Network)”
“This whole episode highlights the deep underfunding of our national healthcare services. Many detrimental health impacts are now presenting from the austerity-like funding structures. These impacts include a reduction of accountable service provision via privatisation, a crisis in Mental Health care provision from Primary Care to Crisis intervention and inadequate health prevention and promotion, from healthy homes, to the loss of community based health-initiatives. Some reports are putting the health budget at nearly $1.85 billion dollars short of where we should be… that’s the real story here. And if this was not bad enough there are the new legislative abilities employers are able to use to stop workers organising for better conditions.”
We are calling on health sector workers and communities across Aotearoa/New Zealand to support the ambulance workers. These drastic measures are outrageous and we need to put a stop to them. This same scenario will continue to be played out again and again in other health sector union negotiations. Their fight is our fight.