Less leave, extra hours contentious

Reducing Otago dental therapists' leave by 23 days and increasing hours of work to 40 a week are among contentious changes proposed by the Southern District Health Board.

The suggested changes are part of the revamping of the school dental service, which involves a reduction in fixed-site dental clinics and increased provision of services from new mobile units.

The new service also involves a shift to "four-handed dentistry", where all therapists will work with dental assistants.

Public Service Association national organiser John Shennan, of Palmerston North, who has been dealing with the issues involved with changes to the new model across the country, said leave was the main point of contention in Otago.

There was a risk, if management pushed the proposal to offer therapists a one-off payment of $1985, half the value of 23 days' leave, some staff might simply go for redundancy and not seek roles in the new service.

In the North Island the union had mostly been able to protect existing terms and conditions for current staff.

This had involved "grandparenting" conditions or agreeing to a lesser amount of leave, but still retaining an advantage over the standard provision.

It was in the interest of boards to be "reasonably benign" to staff so they came across to the new service and there were not "mass exits".

He anticipated the entire change process could take up to 10 years, with interim deals being revisited in that time as older workers left the service and new staff were employed around the country.

One of the issues for the Southern board is that for some years Southland dental therapists have had a 40-hour week and shorter leave than their Otago counterparts, who work 37.5 hours a week and have 48 days of paid leave because they do not work through school holidays.

Since the new service will be a regional one, under the recently merged board, the PSA wants to negotiate common terms and conditions for both Otago and Southland members.

The board, which has 23 Otago therapists, wants to reduce the full-time equivalent positions from 19.4 to 15 through attrition and increase the dental assistant positions from 10.6 to 15.

It argues the association of clinics with school hours and school terms is limiting for a community service, restricting its availability and resulting in a low use of the facilities provided.

Another issue which is to be settled is how the clinic to be situated in the University of Otago's school of dentistry is to be staffed.

The board would prefer the two therapists for this service to become employees of the university, but this is not favoured by the union.

Secondment to the site is another possibility, but the union wants its members to have some choice in this.

Mr Shennan said the board was yet to respond to a variety of issues raised by the union about the changes sought.

The Southern District Health Board has refused an Otago Daily Times request for a copy of the consultation document on proposal for change on the grounds this would jeopardise the process of negotiation.

In a letter this week it stated it would be willing to reconsider its position once the negotiations were complete "in approximately four to five weeks' time".

- elspeth.mclean@odt.co.nz