Today, the junior doctors began a two-day strike in hospitals. They want more money but hospital boards say they can’t pay more because the government does not give them enough money. The doctors say they will strike again in two weeks if there is no progress on their pay talks. Hospitals have sent letters to people who are waiting for non-urgent surgery, telling them that their operations have been postponed. Emergency surgery will be done by senior doctors.
It was not so long ago that senior doctors demanded more pay and they got it. The government said at the time that it was important to keep doctors in New Zealand. More and more doctors are moving to Australia because they can get better pay there.
It is not just doctors who are attracted to Australia. Many skilled workers like builders are also moving to Australia. At the moment, more than 100 New Zealanders a day are emigrating to Australia because of the higher pay and better weather although sometimes they return after a few years. We also have immigrants from Australia and other countries who are happy to live here.
At the other end of the pay scale, more than 400 workers in the Fisher and Paykel factory in Dunedin and another 50 workers in a knitwear factory were told that their factories will close. Fisher and Paykel make kitchen appliances like refrigerators and dishwashers. They will move their manufacturing to 3 places, Mexico, Italy and Thailand, where they are closer to the American and European markets but also where they don’t have to pay workers so much. Factory workers in New Zealand are paid $12 an hour; in Mexico it is $2 an hour. The ANZ bank is also cutting jobs in New Zealand as some of the work will be done in India.
While this is bad news for the economy, dairy farmers are getting record pay for their milk. |