KEY POINTS:
Nearly 3000 public hospital support workers will walk off the job tomorrow over lunch time, but patients aren't likely to go hungry.
The support workers, among them orderlies, food service workers and home-help aids, are seeking a Multi-Employer Collective Agreement (MECA), which would mean they were paid consistently across the country.
Negotiations failed last week with the District Health Boards (DHBs), who did not agree to the MECA.
Spokesman for the DHBs, Craig Climo, said different contingency plans had been put in place at the 21 DHBs.
"Alternative arrangements have been made so that everyone gets a meal when they need it."
How much impact the strike would have on the hospitals would vary from place to place, he said.
"The action is designed to draw attention to their case not to disrupt patients and the DHBs appreciate that."
- NZPA
