A settlement of the collective agreement between district health boards and senior doctors seems some way away, with the executive of the doctors' union rejecting an offer it described as "woeful".
The boards' offer would cost about $18 million across the country, or about $4000 per senior doctor, District Health Boards New Zealand spokesman Graham Dyer, of Hutt Valley, said.
The offer made was consistent with other multi-employer collective agreement arrangements, many of which had recently settled, he said.
The association wants $40 million spent this year and a total of $360 million spent over three years.
The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, in a bulletin to members, said it had not ruled out "industrial strategy", but was still focused on negotiations and getting "the lowest common denominators over the line".
In a letter to the boards early this month, association executive director Ian Powell called for a meeting to discuss the situation. which he described as precarious.
He also wants to see the boards' negotiating team and that of the association given authority to reach a recommended settlement subject to ratification.
Under the existing arrangements, even one board chief executive could block an outcome, a "lowest common denominator process" destined to produce inadequacy and inertia, he told members.
The boards and the association have spent months working on ways to ensure more specialists stay in New Zealand, but are at loggerheads over the status of the business case document jointly produced from this.
The association is upset some media comments from the boards suggested the document was a discussion paper, something which Mr Powell said was at odds with the agreement reached with boards.
Mr Dyer said while the principles of the business case were accepted, the salary scales were unaffordable.
The chief executives had indicated it was a discussion document because no implementation plan was included.
The association says the document, if adopted as a whole, would increase the number of senior doctors staying in the country which would improve training and achieve gains in safety, waste reduction, increase collaboration between community and hospital care and ensure better co-ordination of services.
Mr Dyer said that while the sticking point appeared to be the funding, he hoped the boards could settle the agreement and use the time to further strengthen relationships with the association.
• Junior doctors settled their national agreement, which expired last year, early this month.
Their union, the New Zealand Resident Doctors Association, said the new agreement, which will run until the end of March next year, rolled over terms and conditions with only a few " minor amendments".
No further pay rise had been allocated from the general 2% rise afforded most health-sector employees last year.
THE OFFER
• A 12-month agreement from July.
• Salary increase of 1.7% for both specialists and medical officers.
• Removal of the first four steps of the 15-step salary scale.
• A series of working parties to look at workforce issues
