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Tag Archives: public health


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A win-win-win solution to dealing with domestic violence

NZNO_Union_poster_finalTwo great things happened yesterday that have the potential to eliminate some of the harm caused by domestic violence.

The PSA launched a piece of research that shows how much domestic violence costs business, and Green MP Jan Logie launched a bill that entitles victims of domestic violence to be supported at work.

The PSA research shows that domestic violence costs businesses a conservatively estimated $368 million per year. The author of the research, Suzanne Snively said at the launch that domestic violence impacts greatly on businesses right around the country.

Victims of domestic violence are often stalked and abused at work, and what’s happening to them and their children at home means that they just can’t work as productively as they would if they were living free of fear and violence. She said that if businesses supported their employees to deal with domestic violence, there would be significant savings to be made by reducing recruitment and induction costs and by raising productivity.

Jan Logie said at the launch of her Bill that victims of domestic violence often lose their jobs because they may not be able to focus on their work, are unable to show up to work, or are stalked by their abusers while at work. Her Bill would work by allowing any employee, no matter where they work or what they do, to take leave to keep themselves and their children safe.

Being able to stay in employment while they find safety for themselves and their children is important for victims. And for employers, supporting workers to become safe and violence free has a positive impact on workplace culture as well as dollar returns from increased productivity and decreased staff turnover.

Jan Logie’s Bill will make four main changes. It will:

  •          protect victims from discrimination on the basis of domestic violence,
  •          allow victims of domestic violence to request flexible working arrangements from their employer if needed,
  •          allow victims of domestic violence to take up to 10 days leave a year related to the violence, and
  •          clarify that domestic violence is a hazard in the workplace that needs to be managed like other hazards.

As Jan Logie said, the Bill is a win win win situation! It’s a win for victims of domestic violence, it’s a win for our society and it’s a win for businesses.

Here at NZNO, we know that with 93 percent of our 46000 members being women, thousands of us will experience domestic violence sometime in our lives, and that some will be experiencing it right now.  Others will be witnessing its negative impact on health in their everyday practice.

We are committed to supporting any initiative that will make working life better for our members.   We are committed to improving the health and well being of society and its citizens.  We commend the PSA and Jan Logie for their work to make our society safer and more tolerant.

 

Productivity Gains from Workplace Protection of Victims of Domestic Violence by Suzanne Snively ONZM

http://www.psa.org.nz/Libraries/Documents_2014/Workplace_Productivity_Improvements_for_DV_21_May_2014.sflb.ashx

Jan Logie’s Domestic Violence-Victims’ Protection Bill

https://www.greens.org.nz/bills/domestic-violence-victims-protection-bill    

If you are experiencing domestic violence or want to find out how you can support a friend or family member who is, check out the Women’s Refuge website: www.womensrefuge.org.nz

The Family violence: It’s not ok campaign has heaps of information too, and resources you can use at work and home: http://www.areyouok.org.nz/

The poster above features NZNO men making a stand against family violence. Thank you Kieran Monaghan, Simon Hathaway and Gary Swift.

 


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Auckland DHB’s leaked email


auckland-hospital-sign2Our guest blogger this week is a registered nurse working in Auckland. Her concerns about the politics of health spurred her to start a blog: http://politicsofhealthnz.wordpress.com/ and we’re pleased that she’s allowed us to cross-post her inaugural post.

The Auckland DHB’s leaked email, which reveals the management team’s readiness to further ramp up the pressure on staff and services in order to balance the books, will come as no surprise to clinicians who have become accustomed to working within an under-resourced system.

The DHB appears  willing to enforce the National-led government’s agenda, that of demanding more for less from the entire public service.  The government describes this as “cutting the fat”, but those who work in health  are acutely aware that this phrase, with its unpleasant connotations of butchery, is an ugly euphemism for renouncing its responsibility to ensure all NZers have equitable access to healthcare.

The day-to-day reality for clinicians is one of attempting to provide care in an environment which increasingly compromises their ability to do so safely and effectively.  CEO Ailsa Claire’s statement that “staff costs must be reduced” implies a lack of awareness of the depths to which staff morale has sunk.

Ms Claire describes “the danger of the Board or and (sic) external people determining how we resolve this issue.  Not good for the organisation”.  If Ms Claire’s fears were realised, it might well be damning for the Auckland DHB’s current management.  However,  it could be very positive for clinicians and their clients/consumers/patients if the intolerable stresses within the service became publicised as a consequence, and led to the necessary resources being provided.

The services provided by a district health board do not constitute a business, and the failure of those services to function within an inadequate budget cannot be defined as a financial “loss”.

Healthcare for all is a public good which must be properly funded by government, and effectively and compassionately administered and provided by health boards and their  employees..  When the means for the latter to do their work is absent, the solution is not to order them to “cut costs” and “control overspending”, it is to pass the responsibility back to those with the power to do something about it, namely, the government.


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Why the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement is a health issue

ImageWe’re hearing more and more people, from all over the world, talking about the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement  (TPPA), and they are all saying the same thing: trade deals that are negotiated in secret, that do not give citizens any say over the content, that have the potential to have huge effect on the lives of ordinary people should stop right now. We at NZNO agree; we have a right to know what’s going on.

The TPPA is a free trade agreement that is being negotiated between the United States and ten other Asian and Pacific Rim countries. The negotiations are being held in secret, so what we do know comes from leaked documents.

The things we are finding out are extremely worrying. Big business seems to be in control.

And when big businesses have more rights than States and Governments, you know that it is the citizens of those countries who will bear the brunt.

The group set up to demand transparency and fairness in the TPPA, Itsourfuture.org.nz says,

“From what we know so far, if the negotiations are completed it will become much harder for the New Zealand government to look after our environment, promote health, protect workers and consumers, and promote the public interest.”

NZNO is particularly concerned about that public health will be a major loser under the TPPA and this is why …

Pharmac is New Zealand’s purchasing agency for medicines. It buys all the drugs for the country, in bulk and generic versions where possible, to give tax payers the best value for money. It’s a very clever system and as a result we end up paying much less for medicines and medical equipment than other countries like Australia and the US.

The agreement will give big pharmaceutical companies the ability to patent their products for longer, meaning that cheap “off-patent” generic drugs will not be available for years, and possibly decades. They will also be able to make tiny tweaks to existing drugs and then patent them again.

The agreement will also put into place “transparency” provisions which will interfere with the successful commercial strategies that PHARMAC uses to get medicines at an affordable price.

New Zealanders need access to affordable medicines. We are a small country; Pharmac uses our bargaining power very effectively and must be protected from provisions in the TPPA which reduce its effectiveness.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the only provision in the TPPA that will affect the health of New Zealanders and their safety. There’s more on the It’s our future  website and NZNO will blog about this important issue again.