A HUGE YEAR FOR THE PUBLIC SECTOR, BUT STILL A LOT OF WORK TO BE DONE FOR HEALTH WORKERS

LUCAS DIGNEY ASSISTANT STATE SECRETARY

Over the last 12 months we have been negotiating with the state government for new agreements for health workers.

Just like every other negotiation over the past decade, workers across the state had to engage in stop work actions to get the state’s negotiators to be reasonable and to get a fair and decent offer on the table.

The Public Sector Unions Wages Agreement which covers the whole state service, including health, education, youth and children, was supported by union members in early December. Through this agreement we’ve won many improvement for hardworking HACSU members and the wage increase has gone some way to help bridging the gap between earnings and the ever-increasing pricing on essentials that’s being deliberately imposed by the profiteers.

After what was seriously like pulling teeth, and ambulance workers having to write on vehicles and buildings, and a campaign that the government knew was growing too loud to ignore, we were able to get the government to make a better offer for the ambulance agreement – one that would finally deal with ambulance ramping, fatigue, meal breaks and end-of-shift dispatch amongst many of the other pressures on our ambos. Ambulance workers voted to endorse the offer and we will have a replacement ambulance agreement very soon.

At the time of writing, allied health professionals and radiation therapists have been engaged in industrial action to try and get the government to budge on a below par wage offer – action which has now forced the government to come back to the table with an improved offer for allied health professionals. AHPs will consider the offer before determining whether it’s acceptable or whether action continues, but again we’re proud to see that union action has forced the government to change their position.

Allied health professionals are in high demand across the country and our services cannot continue to be eroded because we can’t offer a competitive package to these vital health workers. There is a high-priced cancer treatment machine currently switched off at the Holman Clinic in Burnie simply because a Senior Radiation Therapist cannot be recruited. The result is delayed cancer treatment for you and for your family. Shortages like this are why keep fighting for these agreements.

We have just commenced negotiations for a replacement nurse and midwives agreement, which we know will need to see some serious action from government to ensure that the ongoing recruitment and retention issues across that workforce are fixed.

The common element to all of the negotiations is that workers had to stand together and demand better to get a result. There should be no mistake or doubt that without that pressure and resolve, the government would have held firm in their offer of a barely-improved pittance for every agreement.

You should be proud if you stood up or you supported those that did. It’s you that makes the difference. This government still doesn’t seem to understand the pressure that everyone is under, but the community supports essential workers and know you deserve a lot better.

Whatever happens with the ongoing negotiations, we still have a lot of work to do to improve services and do whatever we can to hold the decision makers to account. We’ll do that the best way we know how: fighting together.