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National | Health

Further industrial action "on the table" warns junior doc

A junior doctor says further industrial action is an option as the stand-off with District Health Boards (DHBs) continues.

Dr Kat Foster, who graduated from medical school in 2011, is willing to take the fight to the DHBs - however long it takes.

“Further industrial action is always on the table- if we can’t get a settlement that’s our only option.”

Work conditions are a core issue for the junior doctors, who claim DHBs want the power to move them from city to city, as well as wanting to drop their pay.

“It’s disruptive, it’s incredibly unfair, that our voices get silenced because someone who doesn’t know us, and doesn’t know how we work can just decide that we’re just a number on a page that can be moved around,” says Foster.

However, the DHBs argue that forcing doctors to move is not their intention, and the changes they’re pushing for will help, not hinder junior doctors.

“What we are wanting though, is the flexibility to be able to move RMOs in a planned way, where that will potentially improve and enhance their training, and not have those opportunities vetoed by a union,” says DHBs spokesperson Peter Bramley.

More industrial action is planned for the end of the month.

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