7 Feb 2024

Lab workers strike after months of collective bargaining

From Morning Report, 6:14 am on 7 February 2024

The medical laboratory workers who collected, processed, and reported our Covid-19 tests went on strike on Monday after months of collective bargaining.

Seventy percent of Covid tests were processed in private laboratories, where APEX union says a senior scientist is paid 33 percent less than their counterparts in Te Whatu Ora labs.

While partial strikes have been taking place since July last year, scientists, technicians and phlebotomists at SCL Labs across Wellington, the South Island and Hawke's Bay stopped work for 24 hours on Monday.

APEX advocacy lead David Munro spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.