4. Question No. 4—HealthJAN LOGIE (Green) to the Minister of HealthQuestion No. 4—Health 4. JAN LOGIE (Green) to the Minister of Health: Does he believe the DHBs' approach to the current negotiation with allied scientific and technical health workers will improve job satisfaction and retention among the 70-plus groups represented in that negotiation?Hon ANDREW LITTLE (Minister of Health): I don't believe that the process of negotiation on its own which is an activity between employer and union representatives bears upon job satisfaction and retention for the workers represented. In the end it is the outcome of negotiations that counts and I'm satisfied that the DHBs and the union representing allied scientific and technical workers—in this case the Public Service Association—are working to achieve a fair and reasonable result.Jan Logie: What is his response to Steve a sterile services technician who has said We're the most under pressure I have seen in over 10 years in the health sector. My department alone is 66 percent understaffed. On top of that most of my colleagues don't earn a living wage and I have to work a second job to ensure that I can support my family."?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: I say to that worker thank you as I do to all health workers for the extraordinary work they have done over the last two years and continue to do in these extraordinary circumstances. I would also say to him that this is a Government that since it has been in Government has striven to materially increase the remuneration of health workers and we continue to do that with all of the health unions with whom we are negotiating. In addition to renewing collective agreements we have also embarked on a number of pay equity agreement negotiations with unions in the health sector. We have reached agreement in principle with two large sections of the health workforce and we have more to come including with the health workers in his group represented by the union currently representing him in a pay equity process. But as the court recently determined the pay equity process must remain separate and distinct from the collective bargaining process for renewal of the collective agreement.Jan Logie: What does he say to Leighton a physio who said "Many of us are burnt out and some cannot even get leave to take a break. We are understaffed and overworked and we have problems retaining staff."?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: There are many parts of the health workforce that are under huge pressure because of years of underfunding the health sector and the workforce that goes with it including the fact that in the nine years leading up to the formation of this Government nurses' remuneration for example went backwards in real terms. This is a Government that is determined to fix those problems but with a workforce of 77000 represented by many unions we can't do everything at once. We are actively engaged with all unions not only to lift the rates of pay in their collective agreements but also where it is required to address longstanding pay inequity under the Equal Pay Act. We have a programme of work in that respect and that work is well under way.Jan Logie: Does he consider that the Government's April 2021 pay guidance which restricts when and how public servants can receive pay increases may have hindered the health sector's ability to reach fair settlements for long-running disputes such as the allied health negotiations?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: In the end the conduct of negotiations are a matter for the parties to those negotiations. The workers are represented by a union. It is between the union or unions and the employer or employers who are engaged in those negotiations. And of course with a workforce such as with the health workforce these things don't happen in a single set of negotiations. Long-term improvements happen over a period of time and in the public sector the Government that funds those pay agreements has to manage the pressures on it as well. So it provides appropriate guidance but in the end this is a Government that in the time it has been in Government has established a track record of ensuring good and fair pay agreements for workers in the public sector.Jan Logie: What responsibility will he take for fixing the situation that has led to WorkSafe saying they will take enforcement action against the Ministry of Health if funding issues that compromise worker safety in the health sector are not resolved?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: Well for a start WorkSafe will not be doing that because it would be outside their statutory mandate and their prosecutorial responsibilities. We do know that in some parts of the health sector personnel have issued improvement notices in relation to days on which there has been considerable understaffing. But on investigation by WorkSafe of each of those improvement notices the notices have been withdrawn because the necessary improvements have been made in very quick order."