Awanui Labs Refuses to Attend Further Negotiation with Lab Workers’ Union
April 11 2025
- APEX has issued strike notices for 22-24 April to Awanui and Medlab
- Awanui has rejected an offer by APEX to return to facilitated bargaining next week
- Easter to Anzac strike will be most consequential yet and affect over 100,000 patient tests
- Over 20 partial strikes will begin after Easter at Awanui labs
Awanui Labs are refusing to attend further negotiations with the union representing medical laboratory workers’, APEX, ahead of a three-day full withdrawal strike between 22 and 24 April. Over 20 partial strikes begin at Easter for Awanui as union members prepare for a long campaign through autumn.
Over 100,000 patient tests will not be conducted between Easter Monday and Anzac Friday as the third set of strikes by medical laboratory workers takes place. The April strike, by 600 laboratory workers at Awanui and Medlab will be the third strike since February in their quest to resolve a 30% pay gap with Te Whatu Ora employed laboratory workers.
Yesterday Awanui informed APEX and the Employment Relations Authority they saw no point in attending any further facilitated negotiations.
Elsewhere:
- APEX and Medlab – Gisborne, Whanganui, Palmerston North – will meet next week to seek to resolve the bargaining.
- Strike action has not been issued for laboratories run by Pathlab – Hamilton, Taupo, Rotorua, Whakatane or Tauranga – as APEX members consider a new offer recently made by their employer.
“Despite the Employment Relations Authority and APEX making themselves available on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday next week, Awanui are now refusing the opportunity for further bargaining to settle the collective agreement and end strike action,” said Dr Deborah Powell, APEX national secretary.
“All strike action in the health sector is required to have at least 14 days’ notice, as Parliament intended that employers and unions would use this time to resolve bargaining and thus avoid disruption to patients. Good faith bargaining does not require you to reach an agreement before a strike, but it does require you to try and reach an agreement.”
“If we do not try and resolve this bargaining the impact of the next strike will be a week of chaos and months of backlogs across the Wellington region and South Island’s health system, but Awanui’s refusal to meet suggests a lack of concern for the consequences.” concluded Dr Powell.
ENDS
For further information please contact:
Dr Deborah Powell
APEX National Secretary
Phone: 021 614 040
Email: comms@apex.org.nz
Further information
What is a Medical Laboratory Worker?
Medical Laboratory Workers are registered health professionals who run laboratories and test, interpret and report laboratory results. They are trained to identify disease and abnormalities
through studying blood, tissue and other bodily samples. Laboratory workers work ‘behind the scenes’ but remain an integral part of the health system whose work is vital to patient treatment. More than 90% of prescribed treatments require laboratory input to aid/confirm diagnosis or to monitor drug levels or disease progression.
Medical laboratory science is a bit like detective work. Workers look for answers to the disease ‘puzzle’ to help doctors diagnose and treat their patients. They answer questions such as: are these cells abnormal? What do these blood cells tell us about this person’s health? How does it fit in with their other symptoms? How much of drug ‘x’ is in this person’s blood? Is it working effectively? What bug is making this person sick?
Medical Laboratory Workers take on a high level of responsibility, often needing to make important decisions under pressure. Emergencies can occur at any time, day or night, so laboratory workers have to prioritise and use their initiative, often without much back-up. If the doctor needs to know the answer, they have to deliver. Sometimes this means working through the night providing results while patients fight for their life in another part of the hospital or a surgeon waits, mid-operation, for a phone call.
Responsibilities include developing, adapting and applying scientific methods of analysis and ensuring high standards of quality assurance. An understanding of the methodology and theory behind complicated, technical and automated equipment is essential, as is developing the skills necessary to identify and interpret abnormalities under the microscope or via other diagnostic technology. Laboratory workers are highly regarded and sought after worldwide.