Pact

Mental health and intellectual disability services provider Pact says it will appeal an Employment Relations Authority finding that it misled negotiators and breached the collective agreement in the 2011 bargaining round.

Mental health provider Pact has been awarded a contract to house mental health patients, after Southern District Health Board quit Hulme House, in High St, a year ago because it was not earthquake-safe.

A new proposal which could resolve the industrial dispute between community health service Pact and 200 of its employees will be considered by the relevant union members in the next week or so.

Intellectual disability and mental-health services provider Pact says it may lock out staff taking part in industrial action because it risks client safety.

Pact care workers will take industrial action this month to protest a 1% wage offer.

After meetings this week, it is not clear when proposed industrial action by Pact staff will begin, as legal clarification is sought on some issues.

A new Dunedin mental health housing facility is "far too big with too many people" and is a service downgrade, a mental health agency manager says.

With polished wood floors, natural light, and fashionable furniture, Pact's new drop-in centre in Dunedin resembles a swanky studio or inner-city apartment.

Teaching first-aid skills to people with mental illness and intellectual disabilities is a confidence-builder as well as having a practical value, says Pact educator Matthew Peppercorn.