Health And Disability System Review Report Welcomed By NZCTU
Today’s release of the Health and Disability System review led by Heather Simpson is welcomed by the Council of Trade Unions.
“Our health system needs to change to ensure that New Zealanders get the care they need, when they need it,” CTU President Richard Wagstaff said. “This report has shone a clear light on some challenges that our public health system needs to address.”
The report rightly addresses the centrality of the workforce as a critical issue in health care delivery and acknowledges that the workforce is hard working and highly skilled, but a workforce under stress and pressure.
“The development of a workforce plan which is future focused, this is something that the health workforce has been calling for a long time. Developing a 10 – 15 year strategy is welcomed.”
“It is excellent to see that there is a focus on retaining and strengthening the tripartite arrangements in currently in place so that working people, their unions and the employers can work together on change. This model of tripartism can be tremendously effective”.
“And the focus on improving the employment practices for workers who are employed by contractors is very important. Specific mention of encouraging more secure employment, particularly for workforces involved in home based services, disability support and other outreach services is long overdue.”
“It is note worthy that the review acknowledges the underfunding of the health system and makes recommendations including change in legislation for a funding formula that accounts for population to reflect changing needs and costs. This could correct some of the problems that have frustrated the health system over decades,” Wagstaff said.
Yet again the NZ Labour Party’s cheerleaders in chief–NZCTU–“welcome” something. How about leading the working class of this country with some positive energy and a bit of oomph?–you know mass meetings, stoppage action, regular appearances in the media, it would beat the hang dog tailism that we see year after year from the tame cat CTU.
No one, and I have made a lot of enquiries among my union friends, has satisfactorily answered the question of why public sector unions only took strike action against the Govt. once Labour was elected (I let the Teachers off the hook a little here, as members fought well agains National Standards, bulk funding and Charter Schools). They did nothing during the Key years.
A working class based, as opposed to middle class managerialism, approach from the CTU seems highly unlikely with this leadership, this media release is yet another defence of Tripartism–or class collaboration as it truly is. The employing class of this country leapt straight into “Covid Capitalism” and started union busting and clawing back accumulated leave while scarfing down huge bailout amounts that did not end up in workers accounts. There is fightback like Etū at Temperzone and CHH but it should be front page and a National Campaign–“Give it Back!” would be a good slogan.