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Radiation therapists in Auckland and Wellington today joined the latest nationwide strike action over a protracted pay dispute with the district health boards.
Up to 300 patients are expected to be affected by the two groups' two days of action, the second of which is next Monday.
The Auckland DHB said about 180 and 230 patients would have their treatment disrupted by its union staff going off the job.
They would have to be rebooked, meaning other patients faced delays in commencing their treatment.
Spokeswoman Fleur King said 47 of the 53 full-time equivalent radiation roles in Auckland City Hospital's Cancer and Blood Service were held by union members.
Those not involved in the industrial action were able to treat 10 to 30 patients a day.
Ms Fleur said the industrial action did not affect people who needed life-preserving cancer care.
The service treats patients from Northland, Auckland, Counties-Manukau and Waitemata.
In Wellington, a Capital and Coast DHB spokeswoman said 30 staff were taking strike action today and Monday, leading to a postponement of about 70 appointments.
Canterbury DHB therapists walked off the job on Tuesday for three days, while those employed by MidCentral DHB staged a half-day strike on Monday.
Mediation between DHBs and the therapists' union, the Association of Professional and Executive Employees (Apex), broke down after the DHBs refused a 6 per cent pay rise over two years.
Apex says it will take only $150,000 to settle the dispute, and the DHBs admit that the cost of the strikes is already more than that.
The Cancer Society has urged the Government to intervene, as has the dean of Holy Trinity Cathedral in Auckland, Bishop Richard Randerson.
Bishop Randerson said there was "a fundamental moral failure in a system" when a pay dispute prejudiced the lives of patients.
- NZPA
