New Zealand Nurses Organisation members are slamming parking fee hikes as a "kick in the guts" following progress to get better pay.
In a statement on Monday, the union said people working at Wellington and Hutt Hospitals were "appalled" by a recent decision by Capital Coast District Health Board (CCDHB) to nearly double parking fees for most staff.
"It's a kick in the guts," an NZNO delegate said.
"We've just had a recent pay increase and now having to pay double feels like not getting an increase at all."
The delegate also said the changes pose a safety risk to staff.
However, in a statement to 1News, the DHB's chief financial officer Mathew Parr said the price hike, which come after consultation with staff and union partners, was "to address ongoing growing demand for car parking at our hospitals".
"Parking demand has increased steadily over recent years, particularly at Wellington Regional Hospital," he said.
"Many staff cannot find car parks, or use spaces designated for the public. This means patients, visitors, and contractors struggle to park onsite.
"To address this, we have developed a ‘needs based’ policy to assign staff parking based on need and to ensure our most vulnerable staff members are not unfairly disadvantaged. The policy will initially be implemented at Wellington Regional Hospital but over time will apply across all our hospitals to ensure a consistent and equitable approach for all our staff."
From January 1, the cost of staff parking will increase from $4.50 to a "dynamic range of between $4.50 and $7.50 per day".
"Due to the high utilisation of car parking, the daily rate for staff will be $7.50 from 1 January, however this may be adjusted down to reflect utilisation rates going forward," Parr added.
As well, 'C Monthly’ parking will increase to $140 per month and ‘A monthly’ to $220 per month, with further increases over the following two years.
"Staff parking rates have not changed in seven years, are heavily subsidised, and sit well below market rates," Parr said.
"Ongoing subsidisation is not a viable long-term solution and is no longer sustainable, meaning we need to increase rates incrementally over the next three years to align them more with market rates."
Parr added that CCDHB would also invest $3.3 million over the next 10 years, though, for improvements to make it easier for staff to cycle or walk to work.
"These will include new ‘end of journey’ facilities – such as bike storage, lockers, showers and changing rooms – a staff carpooling app, improvements to the Kenepuru Community Hospital shuttle and personalised travel planning support."
However, the delegate said while they support equitable, green policies the changes were a "big safety concern" for those having to find "other less desirable places to park, like residential areas".
"As a predominantly female workforce who often work unsociable hours, we're at risk of predatory behaviour and assaults which happen too often. Staff don't feel safe walking long distances to cars and the same goes for taking public transport late at night.
"There's also an ongoing issue with cars being broken into while we're on nights. For us, safety is best guaranteed by being able to park at the hospital.
"It also won't disincentivise personal car use, it'll just make our extremely hard working nurses pay more for something that many of us rely on to get to work a little easier and a lot safer."
However, in response, Parr said he was not aware of any issues in regards to cars being broken into at night.
He added that security orderlies were available to escort staff to their cars at night on request.
"We have also commissioned a Crime Prevention through Environmental Design review of our parking and external campus environments, and this will inform a programme of work that will enable us to improve the security within the parking environment."
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