The Union Division

DPF over at Kiwiblog comments on this Herald story about Ian Powell of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS – the senior doctors union) criticising Deborah Powell (no relation!) of the Resident Doctors Association (RDA – the junior doctors union). Ian Powell apparently blames Deborah for the RDA’s propensity to strike and she accuses Ian of being a Labour tool. As there is clearly no love lost between these two, their purely ad hominem arguments come as no real surprise. However, the different approaches of the two unions is much more related to the difference between their members rather than the difference between their leaders.

The ASMS consists of specialists and senior non-specialists working in the public sector. These are older doctors who have established families with kids at high school or university. They are paid two to three times as much as their younger colleagues and have paid off their student loans. Many of the specialists augment their income in private practice. They often stay at the same hospital for many years.

The RDA comprises of younger doctors who are either finishing their house surgeon years or studying to become specialists. They have young families and are invariably up to their eyeballs in debt. They move from hospital to hospital, sometimes moving every year.

Just a quick glance at the two profiles should tell you something immediately. The junior doctors are not only far less fixed, but have much more to gain by moving to Australia than their older colleagues. Their salaries will virtually double and often their working conditions will improve. It is therefore no surprise that Deborah Powell has no difficult in persuading them to strike.

Although the ASMS often posture about specialists disappearing to Australia because their conditions are better, this is not really the case (its a very big move for a settled family). It is, in fact, the RDA members who are most likely to move, which is why the shortage of hospital doctors is right where you expect it to be – between the end of the compulsory training years and the end of the specialist training years. This is precisely the area that hospitals battle to fill.

Although I am not a fan of doctor’s strikes, I see why they happen. And unless the government realistically address the gap in salaries and working conditions between here and Australia, they will continue to strike.

Hat tip: Kiwiblog

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