Official announcements have confirmed that as many as 72 orderlies at the Waikato Hospital have every intention to strike for a total of 24 hours, starting midnight, mainly over a pay dispute.

Members of the Unite Union, the orderlies had previously carried out a strike of 4 hours on Christmas Eve of the past year, a move which had come after months of talks over wages with the Waikato District Health Board, which collapsed in November.

"The orderlies want a pay rate that reflects their numerous roles which include but are not limited to patient contact, handling the bulk of the hospital's unpleasant duties, and table and bed assembly configuration", Unite organizer Jared Phillips said.

"They also want service-based pay reinstated across the board", he added.

The coordinator of the strike committee, Ross Crook, has stressed that his co-workers had felt compelled to take the action because of the freeze on wages that the Government had imposed in the public sector.