Full-day intensive discussions took place on Monday (6 May) with ANMF members. Photo: Facebook/ANMF Vic Branch.
Victoria’s branch of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF Vic Branch) has begun industrial action as the state budget pumps an extra $28 million into boosting the sector’s workforce.
ANMF’s 60,000 members rejected the Victorian Government’s initial offer (19 March), but are continuing to negotiate for improved wages, allowances and conditions under a new enterprise agreement. Following an ANMF request, the Victorian Department of Health has appointed former Fair Work deputy president Greg Smith to assist the negotiations.
The industrial action with members of the ANMF and Victorian Hospitals’ Industrial Association includes a refusal to work overtime or be redeployed, and brief periods during the day for creating public awareness of their campaign.
ANMF members claim they will implement stage 2 protected industrial action from 17 May, unless the Victorian Government makes an improved offer by 14 May to resolve the dispute. Stage two includes the closure of one in four beds, cancellation of one in four elective surgeries and stop work meetings.
ANMF Vic Branch Secretary Lisa Fitzpatrick said public hospital employers’ overreliance on overtime and agency nurses and midwives to fill rosters was a “budget house of cards”.
“Hospital spending on overtime and agency doubled from under $100 million in 2018 to more than $211 million in 2022,” said Ms Fitzpatrick.
“If the trend continues, they will be spending $3.5 billion shoring up their existing workforce by 2028.
“Running hospitals with a casual workforce is an incredibly inefficient use of resources and taxpayer funding, especially when Victoria has more than 16,000 extra nurses and midwives in the state than we did five years ago.
“ANMF and its members have a plan to incentivise and rebuild a permanent workforce and stabilise our health system while employers have not offered any insights or a plan to reverse the casualisation trend.”
The union branch secretary reassured the community that there are a number of exemptions, and while there may be some inconvenience, patient health and welfare will not be at risk.
“Nurses and midwives are taking industrial action as a last resort,” said Ms Fitzpatrick. “But if we do nothing there will not be enough permanent nurses and midwives to staff our expanding hospitals to care for growing patient numbers.”
In the recently released Victorian state budget, an extra $28 million has been invested into boosting the nursing workforce capacity, including the continuation of its registered undergraduate student of nursing or midwifery positions.
The 2024-25 state budget also put $31.2 million into strengthening public sector residential aged care, with the hope it will help maintain nurse to resident ratios.
Prior to this announcement, the Federal Government said it would establish a new Commonwealth Prac Payment (CPP) for students to help them manage the costs associated with undertaking a mandatory placement as part of a higher education course that includes nursing and midwifery, and nursing in vocational education and training (VET) courses.
The CPP will provide eligible students access to $319.50 per week (benchmarked to the single Austudy rate) throughout their placement, but does not come into effect until July 2025.
