Ryan Bridge: The doctors strike doesn't add up

Have you been keeping up with this senior doctor's strike? There's a couple of things that don't add up.   Yesterday we spoke about the average salary for these unionised senior doctors.  Simeon Brown says it's a total package worth $343,500.  The union hit back - they said the number was made up.   Which it's not. It's the total package including superannuation and overtime penalties, etc.  Now, for most Kiwis, when you apply for a job, that's the number you'd work off. When somebody asks how much do you get paid in a year, do you just say your base salary?   No, you'd say your total package amount. Second bit is around the actual staffing, cause this does not make sense.   We hear from doctors that they're so short-staffed - not enough specialists, not enough doctors, etc. So short staffed that they're on their knees and the system's broken.   But Ministry of Health says there are more senior doctors now than when National came into office.  And what's more, their churn or turnover has come down too.   So are the doctors saying the situation is now worse than when National came in and if so, how when there are apparently more doctors? So either the Ministry's lying or the system is bad and maybe broken but still better than it was 15 months ago. which is it?   Then there's the pay.   Put your hands up if you've scored a 12% pay rise lately?   No,  I didn't think so. Not that I can see your hands. Dairy farmers you'll all have your hands up in the milking shed this morning I hope with your record payout.   But what about your average worker? No. So doctors want 12%. The Ministry says 1-2%.   Again, this doesn't make sense. If you're worried about safe staffing levels  —and this is not really about pay— the chances of Health NZ hiring more doctors when the wage bill's 12% higher seems less likely.   Is this counterproductive?   Like I said yesterday, you want the men and women who cut you open for surgery to be well paid and rested,  because well, they're cutting you open for surgery.   But they need to articulate just how sick the patient is before we dial up the medicine. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.