Right now if you've probably been keeping across these senior doctors strike as well, because it's going to affect all of us. There will be surgeries that are delayed, there will be specialist appointments that are delayed. There's a couple of things about the story that just don't add up. Yesterday we spoke about the average salary for these unionized senior doctors. So Simeon Brown says the total packages worth three hundred and forty thousand. Excuse me. The union hit back yesterday they said, no, that's a made up number. They said, We've had people calling us, doctors calling us saying I'd love to earn that much. But the point is it's average, right, It's an average, so it's not made up, and it's a total package including superannuation, overtime and penalties. Now, for most kiwis when you apply for a job, that's the number that you would work off, isn't it. When somebody asks you how much do you get paid in the year, Well, first of all, you wouldn't tell them, But do you just say your base salary? No, you would say your total package amount. Second bit is around the actual staffing because this does not make sense me. We hear from doctors they are so short staff, not enough specialists, not enough doctors, etc. So short staff that they're on their knees and the system's broken. But the Ministry of Health says there are more senior doctors now than when National came into office. And what's more, the churn or the turnover has also come down. So are the doctors saying the situation is now worse than when National came in And if so, how short are we? So either the Ministry is kind of making up numbers or lying, or the system is bad and may be broken, but still better than it was fifteen months ago. Which is it? Then there's the pay Put your hands up, dear listeners, put your hands up if you've scored a twelve percent pay rise lately. No, I didn't think so, not that I can see your hands, but I'm assuming there'll be some dairy farmers probably got their hands up in the milking sheds this morning. With your record payout, nothing to scoff at. But what about your average worker? No, so doctors w twelve percent? The ministry says one to two percent. 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 New Zealand hiring more doctors when the wage bill is twelve percent 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. For more from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, listen live to News Talk set Be from five am weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio

Right now if you've probably been keeping across these senior doctors strike as well, because it's going to affect all of us. There will be surgeries that are delayed, there will be specialist appointments that are delayed. There's a couple of things about the story that just don't add up. Yesterday we spoke about the average salary for these unionized senior doctors. So Simeon Brown says the total packages worth three hundred and forty thousand. Excuse me. The union hit back yesterday they said, no, that's a made up number. They said, We've had people calling us, doctors calling us saying I'd love to earn that much. But the point is it's average, right, It's an average, so it's not made up, and it's a total package including superannuation, overtime and penalties. Now, for most kiwis when you apply for a job, that's the number that you would work off, isn't it. When somebody asks you how much do you get paid in the year, Well, first of all, you wouldn't tell them, But do you just say your base salary? No, you would say your total package amount. Second bit is around the actual staffing because this does not make sense me. We hear from doctors they are so short staff, not enough specialists, not enough doctors, etc. So short staff that they're on their knees and the system's broken. But the Ministry of Health says there are more senior doctors now than when National came into office. And what's more, the churn or the turnover has also come down. So are the doctors saying the situation is now worse than when National came in And if so, how short are we? So either the Ministry is kind of making up numbers or lying, or the system is bad and may be broken, but still better than it was fifteen months ago. Which is it? Then there's the pay Put your hands up, dear listeners, put your hands up if you've scored a twelve percent pay rise lately. No, I didn't think so, not that I can see your hands, but I'm assuming there'll be some dairy farmers probably got their hands up in the milking sheds this morning. With your record payout, nothing to scoff at. But what about your average worker? No, so doctors w twelve percent? The ministry says one to two percent. 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 New Zealand hiring more doctors when the wage bill is twelve percent 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. For more from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, listen live to News Talk set Be from five am weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio