Meet the union leader paid almost $1 million a year

A former member of the NZ Resident Doctors’ Association alerted me to the very interesting financial statements of the NZRDA. Their 2017 statements show income of $1.18 million in membership fees, around $350 per member.

The vast majority of the income goes on “Contract Negotiation Services Fees”. Last year this came to $927,000.

That $927,000 gets paid to a company called Contract Negotiation Services Ltd. The majority shareholder (99.5%) is Deborah Powell, the NZRDA National Secretary.

So the National Secretary of the NZRDA gets paid almost $1 million a year for her services. Great work if you can get it.

Unions often rail against business chief executives being paid huge salaries. And government chief executives also get criticised for some of their salaries.

Now if the members of NZRDA think Deborah Powell is worth $927,000 a year then good on her for convincing them to pay it. It’s their money. But it is weird that the highest paid person in the public health system isn’t a DHB Chief Executive, or a consultant or specialist or the Director-General of Health. It is the National Secretary of the junior doctors’ association.

This might explain why some junior doctors have formed a breakaway union. Presumably their union doesn’t pay $927,000 a year to their union secretary.