Awanui Labs is the largest provider of medical laboratory services in the country. (File photo) Photo: unsplash.com
About 500 lab workers employed by medical testing company - Awanui - have settled on a 9.2 percent salary increase after six months of strike action.
Awanui is the largest provider of medical laboratory services in New Zealand.
The settlement for the APEX union members comes three months after the settlement at Pathlab - a company delivering medical laboratory services in the Bay of Plenty and the Lakes district - settled with the union for an average 9 percent salary increase.
"This settlement will be a relief to our members, the clinicians who rely on laboratory services, and the patients whose care is dependent on laboratory workers invisible but essential labour," said APEX's national secretary Deborah Powell.
She said the new agreement will give members a 9.2 percent increase over the next year, including an immediate 6 percent salary increase.
"This settlement will start closing the 25-30 percent pay parity gap between Te Whatu Ora and privately owned laboratory staff by a third over the next year," said Powell.
Apex said the increases were funded from within Awanui's existing revenue, and had not relied on further funding from Health New Zealand.
The union said it remained in bargaining for Awanui lab workers in Auckland.
It also remained in bargaining with another company, Medlab Central, for lab workers in Gisborne, Whanganui and Palmerston North.
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