Jessie Skidmore knows that knowledge is power in the workplace, and being involved in her union gives her the ability to influence change.

The PSA Worksite Representative, who works in an operations role at SA Pathology, mostly in the Northern Adelaide Local Health Network catchment, values how the PSA guides and supports members to deal with issues at work.

And her workplace has had its share of issues, not least the push to privatise pathology services first by a former Labor Government and then by the Marshall Liberal Government, virtually on the eve of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The threat of privatisation saw many workers leave SA Pathology fearing their job security was in jeopardy, which left the organisation depleted as it responded to the global pandemic.

Towards the end of 2019, there was a lot of talk about pulling back the workforce and cutting back on staff. We actually lost a lot of staff, really good staff who were very experienced,

Jessie said.

The irony that SA Pathology emerged as one of the great public sector heroes during the pandemic is not lost on her.

When COVID-19 hit, we were on very low staff ... it was a really bad time to have lost so many staff and we had to pull through with what we had – very limited staff with a big workload. I think that was one of the most challenging things,

she said.

A 19-year veteran of SA Pathology and the former Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science (IMVS), Jessie is a committed public sector worker, who loves the variety of her job. Her work includes everything from customer service, phlebotomy (taking blood samples), to preparing specimens for testing in the laboratory.

For several months from late 2022, Jessie was seconded to the PSA office as a Member Organiser, which provided her with the opportunity to see how the union operates from the inside and equipped her even more for organising in her workplace.

In her role as a PSA Worksite Representative, Jessie has been able to work more closely with the PSA office and also network with other members at various forums and training. She regularly liaises with PSA staff to ensure she has the right information and resources to support her colleagues at work.

Building those bridges gives me the piece of mind as a rep that I’ve got someone who will back me up so I can advocate for members in the workplace,

she said.

“As a worker I know my role and responsibilities, however, the union knows all the legal rights and responsibilities, codes and guidelines, employment conditions and legislation relating to employees and employers.”

Jessie said it is important for workers to become educated about their industrial rights. She recounts an incident of a colleague who became unable to drive at night, and ended up resigning from her role after being told by management that rosters could not be changed to accommodate her circumstances.

Jessie later found out that this type of discrimination against an employee, relating to a disability, was not allowed under the Equal Opportunity Act, but it was too late.

“We lost such a valuable worker and those sorts of things are really frustrating,”

she said.

“If I can be on the floor as a Worksite Rep and I hear about these things, I want to inform my colleagues on what they can and can’t do and where to find information about their rights.”