This Agreement applies to members of the Association who fall within the coverage clause of this Agreement.
Senior medical and dental officers are a distinct, vocationally trained, occupational employee group. The employer benefits from these employees having significant influence in their internal decision-making. The parties recognise that both senior medical and dental officers and the employer have different roles, responsibilities and distinctive features.
Both the Association and the employer are committed to working together to establish and strengthen this engagement with and empowerment of senior medical and dental officers.
Both the Association and the employer recognise that a relationship between the employer and senior medical and dental officers based on constructive engagement between them and empowerment of the latter has positive benefits for both recruitment and retention of employees.
This collective agreement is the foundation document for this underlying engagement and empowerment relationship between the employer and senior medical and dental officers which is integral to the internal culture of the employer.
Te Tiriti o Waitangi
(a) The employer and the Association acknowledge the importance of Te Tiriti o Waitangi as the constitutional basis of the relationship between Māori and the Crown, and the unique status of Māori as tangata whenua of Aotearoa/New Zealand.
(b) The employer and the Association are committed to implementing Te Tiriti o Waitangi between Māori and the Crown and will promote and enable an understanding of the principles and their implementation in the workplace.
(c) The parties obligations include:
(i) Developing a good understanding of the needs and aspirations of whānau, hapū, iwi and Māori communities, including through building awareness of the aims of He Korowai Oranga – the Māori Health Strategy and the Māori Health Action Plan.
(ii) Developing the capability (skills, knowledge and behaviour) required to engage meaningfully with Māori.
(iii) Developing within a supporting environment, knowledge of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Te Ao Māori and how this applies in the context of the work we do and the communities we serve.
(iv) encouraging the development in, and the promotion of, Te Reo Māori.
Employee well-being
The parties acknowledge that employee well-being is important and may impact on the efficient and effective delivery of health services, patients’ treatment outcomes, patient safety, employees’ ability to meet the accepted professional standards of patient care and employees’ clinical practices. Accordingly, pursuant to the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, the employer and the employee agree to take reasonable steps to protect employees against harm to their health, safety, and welfare by eliminating or minimising risks arising from work and to promote employees’ well-being.