Four Thousand New Zealand Medical Laboratory Scientists and Technicians Threatened to Strike over Low Pay and Poor Working Conditions

Apr 15, 2022 | International Laboratory News, Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing

Last-minute court injunction stopped a mass walkout, but allied health workers continue to push country’s District Health Boards for improvements In New Zealand, the unprecedented surge in PCR COVID-19 testing due to the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant appears to have pushed the country’s 10,000 healthcare workers—including 4,000 medical laboratory scientists and technicians—to the breaking point. On March 3, just 24 hours before the first of two walkouts was scheduled to begin, New Zealand’s...

Pathology Laboratory Consolidation May Leave New Zealand Holiday Destinations with Limited COVID-19 Testing Capacity as Omicron Variant Arrives

Jan 31, 2022 | International Laboratory News, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Resources, Laboratory Testing

Due to the national health system’s aggressive cost-cutting measures over the past 20 years, some regions of the island country now have only limited local medical laboratory services It was in the early 2000s when different district health boards throughout New Zealand decided on a strategy of issuing sole source, multi-year medical laboratory testing contracts in their regions to cut lab test testing costs. Consequently, pathology laboratories that lost their bidding were forced to cease...
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