Junior doctors strike at Christchurch Hospital in October. They will walk off the job again this month.

Senior doctors are asking for more than five times their normal hourly rate to cover their junior counterparts as they take strike action.

A 73-hour strike by resident doctors is planned between January 17-20 following on from a 48-hour strike held in October.

The strikes were prompted by resident doctors who say they are being made to work unsafe hours 12 days in a row, and night shifts of seven days in a row.

A senior doctors union has requested its members to be paid $568 an hour for staff working extra hours or shifts while the strike is held.

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The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists is also calling for $340 an hour for doctors working without the normal level of support they would have with resident doctors.

Association executive director Ian Powell said the average rate for doctors was about $80-$90 depending on their position.

"It is a jump, but they are under considerable pressure. It is a very unusual position."

The last major strike for medical staff was in 2008, he said.

Powell said not every doctor would qualify for the additional rates, and some may only get it for part of their time.

The strike was managed "reasonably well" last time, though that was not to say it did not have an impact on staff, he said.

A DHB shared services spokesman said they would only be offering up to $500 an hour.

He said there was a range of rates they could offer, but they depended on the circumstance.

The $500 was not the full amount of what the union was asking for, but was still a decent amount, he said.

The spokesman said the October strike cost DHBs $1.5 million, and the coming strike was expected to cost a similar amount.

The New Zealand Resident Doctors' Association has argued the strike would have cost closer to $4m.

The spokesman said hospitals typically had a lower caseload in January, and did not expect the strike to cause a big disruption, despite it lasting longer this time.

Taranaki and West Coast DHBs would not be taking part in the strike, while Hawke's Bay and Canterbury DHBs were still in discussions with unions on how to manage life-preserving services.

The remaining 16 DHBs would cope with the strike using their own staff, and would not be calling on any consultants, he said.

"[Staff] were brilliant during the [last] strike. They acted really professionally and we are grateful for that."

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The DHBs and NZRDA will meet for informal talks on Friday.

The DHBs spokesman said negotiations were progressing, but was not sure whether they would be able to reach an agreement prior to the strike.